South Korean anti-corruption investigators have arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence, after an hours-long standoff with his security staff and supporters.
Yoon was holed up for weeks while under investigation on charges of insurrection, following a short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December.
He is now being interrogated at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – whose summonses he had previously ignored.
Investigators tried to arrest him earlier this month but had failed.
Yoon’s impeachment trial, which will decide if he is removed from office, started yesterday but ended within four minutes because of his absence.
Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae says Yoon’s arrest confirms that “justice in South Korea is alive”.
This arrest “is the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said during a party meeting.
Since Yoon’s botched martial law attempt, opposition lawmakers labelled Yoon and his allies “insurrectionists” and repeatedly called for their impeachment and arrest.
They have already successfully impeached Yoon and his top officials, including acting president Han Duck-soo.