Law enforcement has arrested the suspended president of South Korea, according to reports.

Today, investigators arrived at the residence of the suspended President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, to make a second attempt at his arrest. This time, law enforcement successfully detained the head of state.

This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Yonhap News.

According to the publication, investigators apprehended Yoon, who had been impeached, at his residence on Wednesday. Afterwards, he was taken for questioning regarding the temporary state of military emergency he declared in December.

As per the corruption investigation agency for high-ranking officials, the warrant for the arrest of the suspended president was executed at 10:33 AM. Ladders were used to access the windows of the residence for the arrest.

"Live broadcasts showed a convoy of vehicles, presumably carrying Yoon, leaving the presidential residence in downtown Seoul and heading to the CIO office in Gwacheon, south of Seoul," the publication noted.

Prior to this, the politician had been hiding in his residence for weeks, avoiding going outside and missing interrogations. Additionally, the president's security service and military had blocked entrances to the residence, both during this attempt and previous ones, to prevent his arrest.

Media outlets highlight that this is the first time in South Korea's history that a temporarily suspended, yet sitting president has been arrested.

Background

Recall that on December 3, the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared a state of military emergency in the country. It lasted about 6 hours and was not related to any military threat, but rather solely due to political motives, as reported by the media. Soon after, Yoon apologized for making such a decision.

However, on December 14, the South Korean parliament declared his impeachment. This was the second vote, as the first on December 7 had failed.

In early January, officials came to Yoon's residence to execute a court-issued arrest warrant. However, the security service did not allow this to happen.

As the warrant expired, the court issued another one. Around the same time, it became known that the president had barricaded himself in the residence as law enforcement promised to arrest him.

Recently, it was also revealed that Yoon would not attend the first official hearing regarding the impeachment case due to concerns for his safety.