The South Korean authorities announced the arrest of the isolated president, Yun Suk-Yul, at a historic moment for the country.
Yun, who is being investigated for rebellion, is the country’s first president to be arrested.
Local media reported that Yun arrived at the corruption investigation bureau minutes after his motorcade left the presidential residence.
His lawyer Suk Dong-hyun said in a Facebook post that the president had agreed to leave his residence and meet with investigators to prevent a “serious incident”.
This comes at a time when the Central Bureau of Investigation said that investigators “executed an arrest warrant” for yun at 10:33 local time (01:53 GMT).
In a video statement, the deposed and detained president said that he had agreed to appear before the Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the case against him, to be held accountable on allegations of corruption.
“I decided to appear before the Central Bureau of investigation, even though it is an illegal investigation, in order to prevent any bloodshed, which no one wants,”he added.
“However, this does not mean that I agree with their investigation,”he stressed.
In the short video, which does not exceed 3 minutes, Yun said that the rule of law in the country has collapsed, and the agencies investigating him, and the courts that issued warrants for his arrest, do not have the legitimate and legal authority to do so.
“Although these are dark days, the future of this country bodes well,”he added.
He concluded with a message to the citizens: “to the citizens of my country, I wish you all the best and stay strong. Thank you”.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Park Chan-dae, said that Yun’s arrest confirms that “justice in South Korea still exists”.
He added during a party meeting that this arrest “is the first step towards restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law”.
Yun’s residence witnessed the gathering of many Korean citizens since early morning, on a morning charged with flaming emotions in front of the presidential residence, marching near Yun’s arrest.
Outside the presidential compound, two groups chanted against each other.
As Yun’s opponents shouted “arrest him,” his supporters chanted his name.
When it was announced that the police and investigators managed to enter the presidential compound, having made their way through the barriers erected by the presidential security staff from the buses, loud cheers and shouts were set off by Yun’s opponents.
