Impeached S Korean President Yoon arrested

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested over insurrection accusations related to his December 3 martial law declaration, investigators say.

A motorcade was seen leaving the gates of his hillside residence on Wednesday (January 15) where Yoon has been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire barriers and a small army of personal security.

Earlier more than 3,000 police officers and anti-corruption investigators had gathered there before dawn, pushing through throngs of Yoon supporters and members of his ruling People Power Party protesting attempts to detain him.

Yoon's lawyers have argued attempts to detain Yoon are illegal and are designed to publicly humiliate him. The warrant investigators secured for his arrest is the first ever issued against an incumbent South Korean president, reports Reuters.

As local news broadcasters reported that Yoon's detention may come soon, some minor scuffles broke out between tearful pro-Yoon protesters and police near the residence, according to a witness.

Yoon's declaration of martial law stunned South Koreans and plunged one of Asia's most vibrant democracies into an unprecedented period of political turmoil. Lawmakers voted to impeach him and remove him from duties on December 14.

Separately, the Constitutional Court is deliberating over to uphold that impeachment and permanently remove him from office.