January 3, 2025
Seoul – Around 8:03 a.m. on Friday, about 50 officials from the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Office and the police jointly entered President Yun Seok-yeol’s official residence to arrest him on suspicion of rebellion.
They were initially hindered by about 20 presidential security guards, who eventually allowed investigators into Yin's residence after a standoff of less than an hour.
If a joint investigation team composed of the chief information officer, police and the Ministry of Defense succeeds in arresting Yoon on Friday, they will have 48 hours to question him. To detain him longer, they would need to apply for a new arrest warrant, which would give them an additional 20 days.
At about 7:20 a.m., the chief information officer arrived at the official residence together with about 150 police investigators. The vehicle carrying investigators passed through the police-controlled cordon and drove to the front of Yin's residence.
About 2,800 police officers were dispatched to streets near Yin's residence to control the situation.
Investigators left the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province at 6:14 a.m. and went to Yoon's residence.
On Tuesday, the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon, who declared martial law in early December and allegedly tried to arrest his political opponents. The warrant is valid until Monday.
About 10,000 people rallied near Yin's home on Thursday when a warrant for Yin's arrest was issued, as some supporters tried to thwart authorities' attempts to arrest Yin.
