(CNN): A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, the embattled leader who plunged the country into political chaos by his shock decision to declare martial law nearly a month ago.
It is the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced an arrest warrant and the dramatic new showdown between investigators and the president came the same day extraordinary new details emerged of the night Yoon tried to shutter parliament.
Yoon was stripped of his presidential powers after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach him earlier this month after some members of his own ruling party turned on him following his refusal to resign over the December 3 decree.
South Korea’s anti-corruption agency said the Seoul Western District Court granted the warrant Tuesday for Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion.
The arrest warrant was issued after Yoon, a former prosecutor, had refused to answer three summonses by investigators in recent weeks asking for his cooperation, according to the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO).
Yoon is wanted for questioning in multiple investigations, including accusations of leading an insurrection – a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
On Monday, South Korean law enforcement officials requested the warrant.
The president’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, called the issuance of an arrest warrant “illegal and invalid,” while speaking to reporters Tuesday.
“It’s a warrant request from an agency that’s clearly not authorized by law, and the warrant request process was not transparent,” Yoon said, referring to the request made by the CIO.
An arrest warrant must usually be executed within seven days, but can be extended, according to the CIO.
Previously, law enforcement officers tried but failed to successfully raid the presidential office as part of the investigation due to blocks by the president’s security team, despite having a search warrant.
The presidential security team said Tuesday that “security measures will be taken in accordance with due process.”
