A South Korean court has authorized the arrest of President Yoon in a martial law investigation

A South Korean court on Tuesday gave authorities permission to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol after he was demoted and suspended under martial law, marking the first time a president of the country has been arrested.

The Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO) confirmed that the Seoul Western District Court approved a warrant for investigators looking into Yoon's imposition of temporary martial law.

Yoon is under investigation for allegedly being the leader of a subversive group, one of the few cases in which the South Korean president has been impeached. Separately, his impeachment case is being heard in the Constitutional Court.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who took over from Yoon as acting president, has also been impeached in parliament, which is full of opposition parties.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who took over as acting president after Han's impeachment, was dealing with Sunday's crash of Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which killed 179 people in South Korea's deadliest airline disaster.

The current arrest warrant is valid until Jan. 6, and if served, Yoon is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap news agency said, citing the CIO.

Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for the ousted president, said the arrest warrant was illegal and illegal because the CIO does not have the authority under South Korean law to request an arrest warrant.

He said the president's legal team will apply to the Constitutional Court to suspend the warrant.

A warrant was issued for Yoon's residence

The district court issued a warrant that Yoon cannot answer the summons without reasonable cause, and there is a strong reason to suspect Yoon of a crime, Yonhap said. The court declined to comment.

It was not clear when or how the warrant for Yoon's arrest would be executed. South Korea's presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it will handle the arrest warrant according to due process.

The court also approved a search warrant for Yoon's residence, the CIO said.

Earlier, the police tried but failed to successfully storm the presidential office as part of the investigation, due to the presidential security unit blocking entry.

Yoon has failed to respond to investigators' summons for questioning several times since the December 3 declaration of martial law. The announcement, an attempt to curb political activity and media scrutiny, was the first in South Korea since the 1980s.

Temporary martial law

That night, soldiers forced their way into the National Assembly building in Seoul but retreated when parliamentary aides sprayed it with fire extinguishers. Lawyers rejected the martial law order when protesters clashed with police outside, and Yoon revoked the order within hours.

The retreat was swift. While Yoon survived the first attempt to impeach him, members of his party later joined the opposition to impeach him on December 14.

Han stepped in as acting president, but was also ousted on Friday after he refused to approve parliament-appointed judges to the Constitutional Court.

The next hearing of the Yoon Constitutional Court case is scheduled for Friday.

Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as Yoon's defense minister after playing a key role in the martial law regime, was arrested and charged on Friday with treason and abuse of power.

The acting leader of the ruling party in South Korea, the People Power Party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that trying to arrest the sitting president is wrong.