South Korean ex-President arrested after high drama

Seoul: Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned for hours by investigators on Wednesday in relation to a criminal insurrection probe, ending a weeks-long standoff with authorities.

His arrest, the first ever for a sitting president in South Korea, is the latest head-spinning development in one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies, even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders.

Since lawmakers voted to impeach and strip him of his duties after his short-lived December 3 declaration of martial law, Yoon has been holed up at his hillside residence, guarded by a small army of presidential security staff who blocked a previous arrest attempt earlier this month.

On Wednesday he turned himself in for questioning at the corruption investigation offices after more than 3,000 police officers seeking to arrest him marched on his residence before dawn. “I decided to respond to the CIO’s investigation - despite it being an illegal investigation - to prevent unsavoury bloodshed,” Yoon said in a statement, referring to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that is heading the criminal inquiry.

A prosecutor accompanied Yoon in his car from his home in the upscale district known as Seoul’s Beverly Hills to the austere CIO offices, where he slipped in through a back entrance, avoiding the media.

As Yoon was being interrogated, an unidentified man in his 60s set himself on fire nearby, fire services said. The man was severely burned and was unconscious.

Authorities have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him. However, Yoon is refusing to talk and has not agreed to have interviews with investigators recorded on video, a CIO official said. The CIO said it had no information on why Yoon was refusing to talk.

The presidential motorcade was seen leaving the CIO offices late on Wednesday evening, with Yoon expected to be held at Seoul Detention Centre, where other high-profile figures including former President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y Lee have also spent time.

Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate.