Impeached president Yoon Suk-Yeol, has been arrested on January 15, nearly a month after he was impeached by the parliament of South Korea. He was arrested after repeatedly defying summons from investigators, as well as refusing to appear at the hearing of his case in the Supreme Court.

Yoon faces charges of insurrection due to his declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. At that time, Yoon justified the sudden imposition of martial law by claiming the need to “quell communist forces” from North Korea and to counter “local enemies” whom he alleged were pro-North Korea. The declaration was overturned six hours later by a majority of the country’s legislators.

Yoon’s impeachment was first attempted on December 7, but this failed when members of his party walked out before the parliament voted. The US intervened in the process, removing Yoon’s incitement of war against North Korea from the impeachment complaint, as well as his administration’s entry into a trilateral military agreement with Japan and the US.

Many Koreans disagreed with Yoon’s subservience to the US and his expansion of its intervention in the country’s politics and military issues. They launched continuous and large rallies before parliament to demand his removal.

Among the groups that led this was the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, with millions of worker members, announcing an indefinite strike until he is removed from office. In addition to Yoon’s insurrection case, workers also condemned the fascist, anti-worker, and neoliberal policies of the former president.

The second impeachment complaint succeeded on December 14, 2024, which primarily focused on the insurrection case.

Yoon was suspended as president and his case hearing was referred to the Supreme Court. His hearing was scheduled for January 14 but his refusal to attend prompted the court to order his arrest the following day, mobilizing 3,000 police officers.