A South Korean court has approved an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk-yol, who was impeached and suspended from power over his decision to impose martial law on December 3. "The arrest warrant and search warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk-yol were issued this morning by the Joint Investigation Headquarters," the Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement.

According to local media, this is the first arrest warrant issued for a sitting president in South Korea. The SEO did not comment on the court's reasoning for granting the arrest warrant. The court declined to comment. It was unclear when and how the arrest warrant for Yoon would be enforced.

What is the court's decision?

South Korea's Presidential Security Service said in a statement that it would consider the arrest warrant according to due process. The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon's residence, the CIO said. Earlier, police had tried to raid the presidential office as part of the investigation but failed, after the Presidential Security Service blocked access.

Yun is facing a criminal investigation into possible rebellion charges. Sedition is one of the few charges for which a South Korean president is not exempt. Martial law in South Korea is imposed during an emergency, which means temporary rule in the country, meaning that the country's command goes into the hands of the military.

Why was martial law imposed?

The reason given for this is that the elected government is unable to carry out its work. In South Korea, this was last announced in the year 1979, when the then military dictator of South Korea, Park Chung-hee, was assassinated during a coup.