Yoon Suk Yeol becomes the first president of South Korea to be imprisoned

Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea has become the first president of the country to be arrested, ending the disagreement between the investigators and his security.

Yoon, whose failed attempt to impose martial law plunged the country into chaos and saw him expelled from parliament, is being investigated for treason.

However, technically he is still the president as the constitutional court must decide whether his prosecution is legal.

Investigators used ladders and ladders in the freezing cold to reach Yoon, whose Presidential Security Service (PSS) operatives barricaded themselves in an attempt to prevent his arrest.

The leader, 64, said he agreed to appear before the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO). to avoid bloodshed.

In a three-minute video message, Yoon said he will cooperate with the investigation he is facing even though he opposes it.

He has always maintained that the warrant for his arrest is not legally valid.

Yoon said he saw how the authorities “attacked” the security perimeter at his home with fire engines.

“I have decided to appear before the CIO, even though it is an illegal investigation, to avoid bad bloodshed,” he said.

More than 1,000 police officers were part of Wednesday morning's operation, which was the second attempt by police to arrest him.

The CIO investigating Yoon, earlier tried to arrest him on January 3rd.

They obtained a warrant to ignore multiple summonses to appear for questioning.

Yoon's People Power Party condemned his arrest as “unlawful”, with floor leader Kweon Seong-dong describing Wednesday's events as “sad”.

On the other hand, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Park Chan-dae, said that Yoon's arrest shows that “justice in South Korea is alive”.

This arrest is “the first step to restore constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said at a party meeting.

The country is currently led by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok as acting president. He was installed in power after becoming the first acting president, Han Duck-soo, was also charged with a majority opposition parliament.

After being questioned on Wednesday, Yoon is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, about five kilometers (3 miles) from the CIO office.

If the court does not issue an arrest warrant within 48 hours of Yoon's arrest, he will be released, and free to return to the president's residence.

Although the arrest of the sitting president is notable in South Korean politics, the country's political crisis is far from over. It is just another stage in the ongoing political game.

Crowds outside Yoon's home Wednesday morning underscored the country's deep divisions.

The anti-Yoon crowd cheered, clapping and chanting “congratulations and celebrations” when his arrest was announced.

The atmosphere is completely different on the other side.

“We are saddened and angry – the law has been broken,” Yoon's supporter told the BBC.

The standoff also pitted two branches of the administration against one another: the police, who were armed with an arrest warrant, and the president's security staff, who said they had a duty to protect the suspended president.

Even before his declaration of martial law, Yoon had been reduced to a crippled leader as the opposition held a majority in parliament.

He has also faced an argument about his wife because receiving a Dior bag as a gift.