Standoff in South Korea as officials arrive to arrest impeached president over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean authorities moved Friday to carry out an unprecedented arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched attempt to declare martial law, in a dramatic standoff at the presidential residence where Yoon has been staying since being impeached last month.

Police arriving at the presidential residence in central Seoul were confronted by Yoon’s security detail, which has previously blocked investigators from searching his office and official residence.

They also faced a growing crowd of Yoon supporters outside the residence who were trying to form a “human shield” to protect him from arrest, some of whom waved American flags in a show of support for the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

Two hours into the standoff, officials said the police special force escorting investigators had reached the presidential security detail closest to the building that contains Yoon. They said about an hour later that the arrest warrant had been served to the presidential security chief.

The Presidential Security Service told NBC News that it was required by law to protect the president, including from anyone entering the premises to execute warrants.

Though Yoon, 64, is not the first South Korean president to be impeached, he would be the country’s first sitting president to be arrested. He has been suspended from presidential duties since being impeached on Dec. 14 and faces possible insurrection charges.

Authorities from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading a joint team of investigators from the police and prosecutor’s office, arrived at the steel gates of the presidential residence just after 7 a.m. local time (5 p.m. Thursday ET), a month to the day after Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law.

The gates opened about an hour later, but the authorities’ passenger cars were blocked from advancing by large buses obstructing the road. Investigators moved into the compound on foot without apparent resistance.

Yoon’s lawyers say the warrant to arrest Yoon and search the presidential office and residence, which was issued by a court Tuesday, is illegal and that the CIO does not have comprehensive command authority over the police.

“Objection procedures regarding the warrant are underway in the Constitutional Court and the regular courts,” one of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-geun, told NBC News via text message on Friday. “Legal actions will be taken against any unlawful circumstances arising during the execution of this illegal warrant.”

Yoon supporters near the presidential residence in Seoul on Thursday. Ahn Young-joon / AP

The warrant is part of investigations into whether Yoon should be charged with insurrection, one of the few crimes for which South Korean presidents do not have immunity. Officials have until Jan. 6 to execute the warrant.

Yoon, who took office in 2022 for a single five-year term, has struggled to advance his legislative agenda against the opposition-controlled parliament.

In a surprise late-night address on Dec. 3, he accused “anti-state forces” of paralyzing the government and sympathizing with communist North Korea and declared emergency martial law, which included a ban on all political activity.

He lifted the order about six hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it.

Though Yoon has apologized for the martial law declaration, he has repeatedly defied summonses to appear for questioning in the criminal investigation.

The short-lived martial law declaration has deeply shaken South Korea, which has a long history of military-authoritarian rule but has since transitioned into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies and the world’s 10th-largest economy.

A Gallup Korea poll released on Dec. 13 found Yoon had an approval rating of 11%, down from 19% before the martial law declaration.

Yoon still has some supporters, however, including hundreds who in recent days have gathered outside the presidential residence. Some waving American flags argued that Yoon’s conservative government was more supportive of the U.S. alliance than the liberal opposition, which they accused of being friendlier toward China and North Korea.

“He has been wrongfully impeached,” protester Cho Soo-young said Thursday, adding that Yoon was “trying to protect and preserve freedom and liberal democracy in South Korea.”

In a letter to the protesters late Wednesday, Yoon said he had been watching their efforts via YouTube.

Police officers removing Yoon supporters outside the presidential residence in Seoul on Thursday.Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images

“Thank you so much and I feel sad,” he wrote, adding that he worried for their health in the bitterly cold weather.

Yoon, who was once the country’s chief prosecutor, said South Korea was in “danger” because of efforts by “anti-state forces” inside and outside the country “to steal the sovereignty of this nation.”

“I will fight until the end standing with you to protect our country,” Yoon said. “Our country belongs to each and every person in South Korea and not a government or a party.”

The main opposition Democratic Party said Yoon’s message to supporters was “highly inappropriate” and “demonstrates that he remains trapped in his delusions.”

“Most concerning is his incitement of extreme conflict and chaos among his supporters through this message,” Cho Seung-rae, the party’s chief spokesperson, said Thursday. “As if orchestrating a rebellion was not enough, he is now stirring his followers to provoke extreme clashes and disorder.”

South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach Yoon on their second try, a week after the first vote on Dec. 7 failed when it was boycotted by lawmakers from Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP). Twelve PPP lawmakers voted in support of the second impeachment motion.

After his impeachment, Yoon faces trial in the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days to decide whether to confirm it. A second hearing was set for Friday.

If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential by-election must be held within 60 days.

In the meantime, Yoon has been suspended from presidential duties, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo initially becoming acting president. Han was in the job for less than two weeks before he was also impeached by lawmakers on Dec. 27 after he refused to immediately appoint three justices to fill vacancies at the Constitutional Court.

He was succeeded as acting president by Choi Sang-mok, the former deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance. Choi took office two days before a Jeju Air plane crashed in the southwest city of Muan, killing 179 of the 181 people on board in the world’s deadliest aviation disaster of 2024.

Stella Kim, Steve Patterson, Stephanie Fuerte and Beomsu Jo reported from Seoul, and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.