South Korea’s president detained after hours-long standoff at residence

His detention makes him the first sitting president in the nation’s history to be arrested.

CIO officials said Yoon was refusing to talk during questioning but did not give further details as to why he remained silent.

Yoon said in a video message released before his arrest that he had agreed to cooperate with anti-corruption authorities to “avoid bloodshed” in the latest chapter of a saga that has rocked South Korean politics and triggered concern among its international allies. Yoon claimed the rule of law had “completely collapsed” after his detention.

“President Yoon has decided to personally appear at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) today,” his lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon wrote on Facebook, adding that the impeached leader would also make a speech. But investigators announced shortly afterwards that Yoon had been arrested.

A convoy of vehicles, one of which was presumably carrying Yoon, was seen leaving the presidential residence and later arrived at the offices of the anti-corruption agency heading the investigation. Yoon was later seen entering the offices.

The operation to detain the president began in the early hours of Wednesday, with investigators sealing off streets around the compound with police buses and thousands of officers deployed.

An unarmed team of investigators from the CIO and police officers tried to enter the residential compound but were blocked by unidentified personnel at the entrance gate, according to witness accounts.

TV footage then showed about 20 personnel believed to be investigators climbing ladders into Yoon’s residential compound. Images showed scores of officers with “police” and “CIO” marked on their backs inside the compound.

Investigators were also attempting to enter the residence via an alternative mountain hiking trail, according to Yonhap News TV.

Investigators were involved in clashes with those defending the residence. Video footage showed investigating officers from the CIO trying to push through a crowd of Yoon’s supporters gathered outside his hillside villa in Seoul

The investigating officials said they would detain anyone who tried to block their bid to execute a new warrant, Yonhap news agency reported. Police denied reports that they had arrested the acting head of the presidential guard.

At least one person was injured during the standoff. They were transported away from the scene by fire authorities.

Investigators were seeking to execute a warrant for Yoon’s arrest over allegations that his declaration of martial law amounted to insurrection – a crime that can come with life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Yoon has been holed up inside his Hannam-dong residence protected by an armed security detail since his impeachment in mid-December.

Earlier there were fears that the latest attempt to arrest Yoon could end in a repeat of a tense standoff earlier this month, when investigators were blocked from detaining the suspended president by the presidential security service.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok announced in a statement early on Wednesday as the operation unfolded: “This situation is a crucial moment for maintaining order and the rule of law in South Korea.”

Crowds of Yoon supporters, most of them elderly, gathered near the residence gates and around makeshift stages hosting speeches describing the arrest warrant “fake” and calling for the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.

Braving the freezing early morning, many held up red light sticks, US flags and banners in both Korean and English, including “Stop the steal” and “CCP out”, embracing unfounded claims of electoral manipulation and alleged Chinese interference – despite the fact that no major election observers or courts have raised concerns about last April’s parliamentary vote that saw the opposition secure a decisive victory.

Nearby, a smaller group of pro-impeachment protesters, kept apart from Yoon’s supporters by a police cordon, was chanting “Enter! Enter! Arrest him!”

Activists on both sides had set up tea stations and were distributing heat packs.

Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades after he sent soldiers to storm parliament, shaking the vibrant east Asian democracy and briefly sending it back to the dark days of military rule.