Yoon’s detention, after a tense standoff outside the presidential residence, marks the latest chapter in a bewildering series of events since his martial law decree.

South Korea looks set for a dramatic political showdown this week as impeachment proceedings kick off against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who remains holed up in his fortified residence evading arrest for a separate criminal investigation.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been detained after a massive law enforcement operation at the presidential compound that ended a weeks-long stand-off between his bodyguards and the country’s anti-corruption agency.

As 3,000 riot police swarmed his hillside villa on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol huddled with party loyalists, telling them that people were increasingly realising the country's legal system had been hijacked by leftist forces.

Yoon Suk Yeol was taken to a detention center after being questioned by law enforcement officials over his imposition of martial law last month

South Korean investigators announced on Wednesday that they had arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law bid early last month after a second police raid on the

Authorities now have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.

South Korea's president Yook Suk Yeol has been arrested by anti-corruption investigators, following a weeks-long stand-off between investigators and his personal security detail. The 64-year-old, who plunged South Korea into political turmoil with his short-lived martial law declaration on 3 December, is the first sitting president to be arrested.