Seoul
\nA South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, the embattled leader who plunged the country into political chaos by his shock decision to declare martial law nearly a month ago.
\nIt is the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced an arrest warrant and the dramatic new showdown between investigators and the president came the same day extraordinary new details emerged of the night Yoon tried to shutter parliament.
\nYoon was stripped of his presidential powers after South Korea\u2019s parliament voted to impeach him earlier this month after some members of his own ruling party turned on him following his refusal to resign over the December 3 decree.
\nSouth Korea\u2019s anti-corruption agency said the Seoul Western District Court granted the warrant Tuesday for Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion.
\nThe arrest warrant was issued after Yoon, a former prosecutor, had refused to answer three summonses by investigators in recent weeks asking for his cooperation, according to the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO).
\nYoon is wanted for questioning in multiple investigations, including accusations of leading an insurrection \u2013 a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
\nOn Monday, South Korean law enforcement officials requested the warrant.
\nThe president\u2019s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, called the issuance of an arrest warrant \u201cillegal and invalid,\u201d while speaking to reporters Tuesday.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a warrant request from an agency that\u2019s clearly not authorized by law, and the warrant request process was not transparent,\u201d Yoon said, referring to the request made by the CIO.
\nAn arrest warrant must usually be executed within seven days, but can be extended, according to the CIO.
\nPreviously, law enforcement officers tried but failed to successfully raid the presidential office as part of the investigation due to blocks by the president\u2019s security team, despite having a search warrant.
\nThe presidential security team said Tuesday that \u201csecurity measures will be taken in accordance with due process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seoul A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, the embattled leader who plunged the country into political chaos by his shock decision to declare martial law nearly a month ago. It is the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced an arrest warrant and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-452841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n