This is the first time in the country's history that an arrest warrant has been issued for an incumbent president.
The Seoul Western District Court approved the arrest warrant requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) against him on charges of insurrection and abuse of power as Yoon repeatedly refused to respond to summonses for questioning.
Yoon has been holed up at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul since a motion to impeach him passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14, while preparing for his impeachment trial before the Constitutional Court of Korea.
The CIO, which also obtained a search warrant, is now expected to execute the arrest warrant at the president's residence soon, but it remains to be seen whether Yoon will comply voluntarily or be forced to do so. An arrest warrant is typically valid for about a week from the date of issuance.
Later in the day, Yoon's legal representatives announced plans to file an injunction against the arrest warrant. Yoon Gap-geun, one of his lawyers, said that the arrest and search warrants, issued at the request of the CIO are "illegal and invalid" as the agency lacks jurisdiction over the charges against Yoon and does not have the authority to investigate him.
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