Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol

Beginning on 3 January 2025, South Korean authorities attempted to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea at the time. Yoon had confined himself at his official presidential residence since his impeachment on 14 December 2024. The arrest warrant, granted on 31 December by the Seoul Western District Court, stemmed from investigations into Yoon's martial law declaration on 3 December, as well as his refusal to attend any of the three summons demanded by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). On 15 January 2025, after an infiltration of his residence, Yoon handed himself over to the CIO, ending the arrest effort.

The initial and unsuccessful arrest operation on 3 January resulted in a complex security standoff at his presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan, Seoul, involving multiple security forces and lasting several hours. After roughly six hours of confrontation at Yoon's residence, the CIO suspended their operations, citing safety concerns for personnel. It was unsuccessful mainly due to resistance from the Presidential Security Service and legal objections from Yoon's defense lawyers. The arrest warrant and raid marked the first arrest of a sitting president in the nation's history.

On 10 July 2025, three months after Yoon's 4 April removal from office, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon, this time in his capacity as the former president, due to loss of immunity stipulated in Article 84 of Constitution of South Korea. The arrest related to five key charges related to the imposition of the short-lived martial law, the grounds for arrest were obstruction of special official duties, violation of the Presidential Security Act, obstruction of the exercise of rights by abuse of power, and creation of false official documents. Yoon remains in custody at this time, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2026 for orchestrating an insurrection.