SEOUL, Jan. 15 (CNA) – South Korean authorities detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday (Jan 15), the Yonhap news agency reported. Authorities had earlier entered his residence in a new bid to arrest him over insurrection accusations related to his Dec 3 martial law declaration.

Video footage before dawn on Wednesday showed hundreds of police officers, some carrying ladders and wire cutters, marching up the road leading to his hillside villa, where Yoon has been holed up for weeks guarded by a small army of personal security.

A spokesperson for South Korea's national police agency denied on Wednesday media reports that Kim Sung-hoon, acting head of the presidential security service, had been arrested during an attempt by investigators to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol.

As local news broadcasters reported that Yoon's detention may come soon, some minor scuffles broke out between tearful pro-Yoon protesters and police near the residence, according to a Reuters witness at the scene.

Police said they had deployed 3,200 officers to Yoon's residence to execute the arrest on Wednesday, where hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters and members of his People Power Party had also gathered before dawn in sub-zero temperatures.

"As I have repeatedly emphasised the need for prevention of physical conflict between state agencies ... I will sternly hold those responsible if unfortunate events occur," Acting President Choi Sang-mok said in a statement on Wednesday.

Yoon's declaration of martial law stunned South Koreans and plunged one of Asia's most vibrant democracies into an unprecedented period of political turmoil.

The arrest warrant is the first ever issued against an incumbent South Korean president. Yoon's lawyers have argued the attempts to arrest him are illegal and designed to publicly humiliate him.

Separately, the Constitutional Court is deliberating over whether to uphold a vote by lawmakers to impeach Yoon and permanently remove him from office.

Photo from Reuters