Using ladders and bolt cutters to wade through the obstacles put up, South Korean authorities on Wednesday arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested over his failed martial law bid, ending a weeks-long standoff.

Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and charged with insurrection over his short-lived effort to impose martial law last month, is the first sitting president in the nation's history to be arrested.

This was the second attempt by authorities to arrest Yoon. Earlier, on January 3, a first attempt to arrest the impeached president failed after a tense hours-long standoff with members of Yoon's official Presidential Security Service (PSS), who refused to budge when investigators tried to execute their warrant.

In a video message recorded shortly before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country.”

Besides Yoon, the investigators also arrested Kim Sung-hoon, the acting chief of the Presidential Security Service, for blocking their initial attempt to arrest the impeached president, according to Yonhap news agency.

Yoon had been holed up in the Hannam-dong residence in Seoul for weeks while vowing to “fight to the end” the efforts to oust him, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier today, the anti-corruption investigators and police officers arrived at Yoon's residence and were involved in hourslong standoff at the compound’s gate with presidential security forces.

According to AP, police officers were seen using wire cutters to remove the barbed wire placed by the presidential security service on the perimeter of the compound to block their entry.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was taken to a detention centre near Seoul on Wednesday after being questioned by law enforcement officials regarding his imposition of martial law last month.

Yoon faced approximately 10 hours of questioning by the country’s anti-corruption agency following his detention earlier in the day at his presidential residence. The arrest followed an early-morning standoff at his official residence in Seoul.

South Korean Impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol Arrest | Explained: Capping weeks of high political drama, South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested on Wednesday (January 15).

Yoon, who had earlier refused to surrender, said he had agreed to cooperate with the “illegal investigation” to “prevent unsavoury bloodshed”.

Hamas agreed to a draft ceasefire agreement for the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (January 14). An Israeli official told the Associated Press that progress was made but the details were being finalised. The Israeli Cabinet would also have to give its final approval to the plan, which could prove to be a roadblock.

The Palestinian militant group launched attacks on Israel in October 2023, leaving 1,200 people dead. It followed an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to a recent study published in The Lancet.

Officials in Jerusalem tell Israeli media that the deal is expected to be signed tonight or tomorrow, and that a joint declaration is anticipated soon afterwards.

This means that if the deal is approved by the security cabinet and then the full cabinet this evening or more likely tomorrow, with a 24-48 hour period to allow for appeals against the deal to the Supreme Court, implementation could begin with the first hostages going free on Sunday.

“There is a breakthrough in the hostage deal negotiations in Doha. Hamas military leader in Gaza Mohammed Sinwar gave his OK,” Walla news cites an Israeli official as saying.

Mohammed Sinwar is the bother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and believed to be commanding Hamas in Gaza.