SEOUL — South Korean authorities arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over insurrection allegations, with the embattled leader saying he agreed to comply with what he called an illegal probe to avoid “bloodshed.”

His arrest, the first ever for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders.

Since lawmakers voted to stand him down after his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, Mr. Yoon has been holed up at his hillside residence, guarded by a small army of personal security that blocked a previous arrest attempt.

A defiant Mr. Yoon said he submitted himself for questioning to avoid any violence after more than 3,000 police officers marched on his residence to arrest him from the early hours of Wednesday.

“I decided to respond to the CIO’s investigation — despite it being an illegal investigation — to prevent unsavory bloodshed,” Mr. Yoon said in a statement, referring to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that is heading the criminal probe.

Mr. Yoon’s motorcade was later seen leaving his residence in an upscale area known as Seoul’s Beverly Hills. It arrived at the investigators’ office but was quickly surrounded by security and moved to the back of the building, where Mr. Yoon slipped in, evading the waiting media.

Authorities now have 48 hours to question Mr. Yoon after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.

Mr. Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate to do so. A warrant to search Mr. Yoon at his residence, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, referred to Mr. Yoon as “ringleader of insurrection.”

Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial law shocked South Koreans, rattled Asia’s fourth largest economy and ushered in an unprecedented period of political turmoil in one of Washington’s key security partners in the region. Lawmakers voted to impeach him and remove him from duties shortly after on Dec. 14.

Separate from the criminal investigation, the Constitutional Court is deliberating whether to uphold his impeachment by parliament and permanently remove him from office or restore his presidential powers.

The United States remains committed to working with the government in Seoul and appreciates all its efforts and citizens “to act in accordance with the Constitution”, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in statement.

The top government spokesperson in neighboring Japan, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told a daily news briefing that Tokyo was following developments in South Korea “with particular and serious interest.”

YOON SUPPORTERS
The latest arrest attempt that began before dawn gripped the nation with hundreds of thousands glued to live feeds showing bus loads of police arriving near the presidential residence, pushing past Yoon supporters and then walking towards the gates of the compound carrying ladders and wire cutters.

As local news broadcasters reported that Mr. Yoon’s detention was imminent, some minor scuffles broke out between pro-Yoon protesters and police near the residence, according to a Reuters witness at the scene.

Throngs of those protesters gathered in sub-zero temperatures, some wrapped in foil blankets and others waving flags bearing “Stop the Steal” slogans referring to Mr. Yoon’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud — one of the reasons he gave to justify his short-lived martial law declaration.

Some of Mr. Yoon’s supporters have drawn parallels with his plight and that of US President-elect Donald J. Trump, who also claimed voter fraud contributed to his election defeat in 2020 but recovered to make a stunning political comeback.

“It is very sad to see our country falling apart,” said Kim Woo-sub, a 70-year-old retiree protesting Mr. Yoon’s arrest outside his residence on Wednesday.

“I still have high expectations for Trump to support our president. Election fraud is something they have in common but also the US needs South Korea to fight China,” he said.

Despite polls showing a majority of South Koreans disapprove of Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration and support his impeachment, the political standoff has given oxygen to his supporters and his People Power Party (PPP) has seen a revival in recent weeks.

Support for the PPP stood at 40.8% in the latest Realmeter poll released on Monday, while the main opposition Democratic Party’s support stood at 42.2%, within a margin of error and down from a gap of 10.8% from last week, the poll said. — Reuters

DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Negotiators were near to hammering out the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar, and the US and Egyptian leaders promised to stay in close contact about a deal over the coming hours.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said an agreement for a truce in the besieged enclave and release of hostages was closer than ever.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari earlier told a news conference that both sides were presented with a text and talks on the last details were under way.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not delivered its response yet because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

US President Joseph R. Biden, whose administration has been taking part alongside an envoy of President-elect Donald J. Trump, said a deal was close after the war decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of people and triggered conflicts in the region.

Mr. Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi talked about progress in the negotiations on Tuesday.

“Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours,” the White House said in a statement after the leaders’ telephone call.

The two presidents “emphasized the urgent need for a deal to be implemented.”

Hamas said the talks had reached the final steps and it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal.

An Israeli official said talks had reached a critical phase although some details needed to be worked out: “We are close, we are not there yet.”

White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said hopefully a Gaza hostage deal will be reached this week.

Visiting Rome, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday he believed a majority of Israel’s coalition government would support a Gaza deal if one were finally agreed, despite vocal opposition from hardline nationalist parties in the coalition.

Militant group Islamic Jihad, which is separate from Hamas and also holds hostages in Gaza, said it was sending a senior delegation that would arrive in Doha on Tuesday night to take part in final arrangements for a ceasefire deal.

If successful, the phased ceasefire — capping over a year of start-and-stop talks — could halt fighting that decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, made most of the enclave’s population homeless and is still killing dozens a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who gave a speech in Washington outlining a vision for governing the Palestinian territories after the war, said it was up to Hamas to accept a deal that was already set for implementation. 

CHILDREN, WOMEN HOSTAGES WOULD BE RELEASED FIRST
“The deal … would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,” Mr. Biden said on Monday.

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, new Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 15 people on Tuesday in attacks on Deir al-Balah and Rafah, medics said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it was busy preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza under a potential ceasefire but uncertainty around border access and security remained obstacles.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

“We can’t miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them,” said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

An Israeli official said the deal’s first stage would see the release of 33 hostages, including children, women including some female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick. Israel would gradually and partially withdraw some forces.

A Palestinian source said Israel would free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase over 60 days.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.

Both sides have been committed in principle for months to the prospect of a ceasefire accompanied by a swap of remaining hostages for detainees. But Hamas rejected any deal that stopped short of bringing a permanent end to the war, while Israel said it would not end the war until Hamas is dismantled.

Mr. Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration is now widely seen as a de facto deadline for a ceasefire agreement. — Reuters