A South Korean court gave authorities approval on Tuesday to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol after he was impeached and suspended from power for imposing martial law, marking the first time that a sitting president of the country has faced arrest.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved an arrest warrant requested by investigators examining Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law.
Yoon is facing investigation on allegations that he was the leader of an insurrection, one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. Separately, his trial on impeachment is being heard at the Constitutional Court.
The arrest warrant for an incumbent president is unprecedented, and deepens the political crisis that has engulfed South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who took over from Yoon as acting president, has also been impeached by parliament, which is dominated by the opposition.