Anxious to avoid “a bloodbath” between the police who came to arrest him for his declaration of martial law and his presidential security service (PSS), the conservative South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, agreed, Wednesday, January 15, to surrender. He went to the headquarters of the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, where he was arrested for 48 hours in police custody which could lead to his indictment. Interrogations on accusations of insurrection began. Mr. Yoon will sleep in Seoul Prison. This is the first time a sitting president has been arrested in South Korea.
His decision ended a very tense morning at the presidency. Nearly 4,000 police officers, including some from special units, were mobilized to support the CIO agents engaged in his arrest, a high-risk operation given the mobilization of his support and the determination of the PSS to protect him.
Arriving at the presidential residence at 4:20 a.m., the police entered the site. The operation continued for more than three hours, until Mr. Yoon's decision. “To avoid an unfortunate and violent incident, I have decided to appear before the IOC, even though I believe the investigation is illegal”the conservative president said in a video message recorded at his residence in Yongsan, central Seoul.
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