In his declaration, Yoon accused the Democratic Party (DPK), which has a majority in the National Assembly, of conducting "anti-state activities" and collaborating with "North Korean communists" to destroy the country, thereby creating a "legislative dictatorship".

[8] As a result, Yoon was impeached on 14 December by the National Assembly and suspended from office pending a final ruling by the Constitutional Court on whether to confirm his removal from the presidency.

[11][12][13] On 11 December 2024, South Korean police raided the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea, with investigators presenting a search warrant specifying Yoon as the suspect.

[3] On 27 December the National Assembly voted 191–71 to create a special committee to investigate insurrection charges against Yoon, with a tenure lasting until 13 February 2025.

[26] The arrest warrant, valid for seven days up to 6 January 2025,[27][28] allowed investigators multiple attempts to detain Yoon if initial efforts proved unsuccessful.

[28][3] During the arrest operation, Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae stated that Yoon "...must pay the price for his crime of trying to start a war by ordering (during martial law), 'tear down the door with an axe' and 'drag him out even if it means shooting him.'"

Following the unsuccessful initial raid, Park called Yoon an "insurrection ringleader", and described his arrest as South Korea's "most urgent task" in order to prevent the economic and political fallout of the martial law crisis from further snowballing.

Several pro-Yoon supporters waved American and South Korean flags during the rallies, and shouted slogans including "We will protect President Yoon Suk Yeol!"

[30] On 1 January 2025, Yoon released a statement to his supporters claiming, "The Republic of Korea is currently in danger due to internal and external forces threatening its sovereignty," and vowed to "fight alongside you to the very end to protect this nation.

"[31] Opposition lawmakers criticized this message as inflammatory, with Democratic Party spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae describing Yoon as "delusional" and accusing him of attempting to incite confrontations.

[32] In the early morning hours of 3 January, investigators from the CIO, accompanied by police forces, entered Yoon's presidential residence to execute the arrest warrant.

[3] The Presidential Security Service cited two articles in South Korea's Criminal Procedure Act regarding the protection of official secrets to justify blocking access to investigators.

They argued that the warrant could not be enforced at the presidential residence, citing laws protecting locations containing military secrets from searches without proper consent.

The lawyers also questioned the CIO's authority to investigate "rebellion charges" and disputed police officers' legal right to assist in the detention operation.

[3] According to media reports, investigators faced a human wall of approximately 200 presidential personnel and experienced "various small and large scuffles" during their attempt to execute the arrest warrant.

[3] Concurrent with the first arrest attempt, Army Chief Park An-su, who had served as martial law commander during Yoon's December declaration, and military official Kwak Jong-geun were indicted on insurrection charges.

[3] On 14 January, a military unit assigned to guard the residence's exterior approved the entry of anti-corruption officials and police to arrest Yoon.

The operation intended to involve mechanical equipment such as cranes and tow trucks for removing physical barriers, riot police deployment for crowd control, and psychological warfare that included loudspeaker announcements offering leniency to cooperating security personnel.

About 30 members of the People Power Party along with lawyers Yoon Gap-geun and Kim Hong-il formed a human chain in front of the residence to prevent entry.

[45][46] Deputy PSS Chief Kim Sung-ho, who also received an arrest warrant, had his radio communication with other secret service members cut off.

[47] Several personnel employed ladders to scale buses that had been positioned as barriers at the entrance, and used bolt cutters to breach barbed wire fortifications.

[49] Shortly before his arrest, Yoon released a three-minute video statement announcing his decision to cooperate with investigators in order to "prevent any unsavoury bloodshed" after watching authorities "invade" the residence's security barriers.

"[48] On 18 January, Judge Cha Eun-kyung of the Seoul Western District Court issued a formal arrest warrant, extending Yoon's detention from 48 hours to up to 20 days pending the prosecutors' decision on indictment.

A total of 86 individuals were arrested for various offenses, including assaulting police officers, attacking a journalist, unlawfully entering the courthouse, and damaging its facilities.

[63][64] On 16 January, his team filed an insurrection complaint against CIO chief Oh Dong-woon, National Office of Investigation head Woo Jong-soo, and several others over Yoon's arrest.

The ban on visits includes Kim Keon-hee and his family, and the CIO intended to prepare for the possibility that Yoon may file a petition with the court.

[69] On 24 January, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed a request by prosecutors to extend Yoon's detention until 6 February, citing lack of probable cause to continue the investigation under the prosecution's authority following the referral of the case by the CIO.

[74] On 8 February, police launched an investigation after details of a plot to stage a mob attack on the Constitutional Court hearing Yoon's impeachment trial emerged online.