South Korean investigators arrest impeached President Yoon

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested in the presidential residence on Wednesday, becoming the country's first sitting president to be kept in custody over his short-lived martial law imposition.

A joint investigation unit, composed of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI) and the defense ministry's investigative headquarters, said in a short notice that Yoon was arrested at 10:33 a.m. local time (0133 GMT).

TV footage showed vehicles carrying arrested Yoon moved out of the residence in central Seoul for questioning at the CIO office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, before being detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just 5 kilometers away from the office.

The CIO will be required to decide within 48 hours whether to seek a separate warrant to detain Yoon for up to 20 days for further questioning or release him.

Yoon became the first incumbent president to be arrested in the country's modern history.

In a statement, 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 on Wednesday.

"When I saw them break into the security area using firefighting equipment today, I decided to respond to the CIO's investigation – despite it being an illegal investigation – to prevent unsavory bloodshed," Yoon said in a statement.

Yoon's lawyers have argued attempts to detain Yoon are illegal and are designed to publicly humiliate him. The warrant investigators secured for his arrest is the first ever issued against an incumbent South Korean president.

Yoon's declaration of martial law in early December stunned South Koreans and plunged the Asian country into an unprecedented period of political turmoil. Lawmakers voted to impeach him and remove him from duties on December 14.

Separately, the Constitutional Court is deliberating over to uphold that impeachment and permanently remove him from office.

(With input from agencies)