South Korea's President Is Detained for Questioning

[mahatmakanejeeves]

South Korea’s President Is Detained for Questioning

Yoon Suk Yeol became the first South Korean leader to be detained while in office, ending a tense standoff between his supporters and the authorities.


A motorcade taking President Yoon Suk Yeol away from his residence in Seoul on Wednesday morning. He will be questioned about his declaration of martial law last month. Jun Michael Park for The New York Times

By Choe Sang-HunJin Yu Young and Victoria Kim
Choe Sang-Hun and Jin Yu Young reported from Seoul
Published Jan. 14, 2025
Updated Jan. 15, 2025, 12:22 a.m. ET

President Yoon Suk Yeol became the first sitting South Korean leader to be detained for questioning by criminal investigators on Wednesday, ending a weekslong standoff over his declaration of martial law that thrust the country into a political crisis.

Mr. Yoon’s security guards successfully blocked the investigators from detaining him on Jan. 3, when they made their first attempt to serve a court-issued detention warrant. Since then, the country has been gripped by fears that a violent clash might occur if both sides refused to back down.

But when the investigators returned on Wednesday morning with far more police officers, some of them carrying ladders to scale defensive barricades, Mr. Yoon’s bodyguards put up no obvious resistance. Mr. Yoon then struck a deal with massed law enforcement officials to go with them. He was not handcuffed and was allowed to travel to the investigators’ headquarters in a presidential motorcade, rather than in a police car.

In a video message released shortly afterward, Mr. Yoon said he agreed to submit to questioning in order to prevent a “bloody” clash between his bodyguards and the police. But he called the investigation and warrant to detain him illegal.

{snip}

Choe Sang-Hun is the lead reporter for The Times in Seoul, covering South and North Korea. More about Choe Sang-Hun

Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul. More about Jin Yu Young

Victoria Kim is a reporter based in Seoul and focuses on breaking news coverage across the world. More about Victoria Kim

A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 15, 2025, Section A, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: 2nd Attempt to Detain Korean Leader Is Made. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe