South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested, six weeks after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap news agency has reported.
Police had been trying to access the president’s official office to detain him but had become engaged in a standoff with the president’s security service.
Hours later hundreds of officers made it onto the grounds of the property by using ladders to climb over barriers.
Earlier police said they had deployed 3,200 officers to execute the arrest warrant.
One person who collapsed amid the standoff has been transported away from the scene by the fire department, local media said.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police are jointly investigating whether Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration on 3 December amounted to an attempted rebellion.
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What happened on 3 December?
Mr Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops around the National Assembly at the beginning of last month.
It lasted only hours before politicians managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
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Mr Yoon has argued his declaration of martial law was a legitimate act of governance, calling it a warning to the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which he has described as “despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces”.
He claimed the party used its legislative majority to impeach top officials and undermine the government’s budget.
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Over the past two weeks, thousands of anti- and pro-Yoon protesters have gathered daily in competing rallies near his office in Seoul, in anticipation of his detention.
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