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 Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained on Wednesday 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.

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.