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The court's issuance of the warrant marks the first time South Korean authorities have attempted to detain a sitting president.
A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law in historic terms.
Seoul's Western District Court on Tuesday approved the order following a request by the Joint Investigation Staff, which is investigating the embattled South Korean leader for rebellion and abuse of power.
“The arrest warrant and search warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol requested by the Joint Investigation Staff were issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Staff said in a statement.
The move marks the first time authorities have attempted to detain a sitting South Korean president.
It is unclear when authorities might try to detain Yun.
Yun's security detail has previously blocked investigators from executing a number of search warrants at the presidential office complex and the president's official residence.
South Korean media have speculated that Yoon is unlikely to be arrested immediately as authorities are likely to seek to coordinate with the presidential security service.
Yun Gap-geun, a lawyer for Yoon, said in a statement that the order was “illegal and invalid,” arguing that the CIO had no authority to investigate the president.
Kwon Sung-dong, the leader of Yoon's People Power Party, also criticized the court's decision to issue the order, describing it as “inappropriate.”
Yun faces possible life in prison or even the death penalty for his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, which plunged the East Asian nation into its biggest political crisis in decades.
Yoon has been suspended from his duties since December 14, when the National Assembly is in session voted to impeach him by a 204-85 vote.
In a deepening of the country's leadership crisis, the opposition-controlled legislature on Friday also voted to impeach incumbent President Han Dak-soo, handing presidential powers to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
The Democratic Party and several smaller opposition parties voted to impeach Khan over his refusal to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, which is debating whether to uphold Yun's impeachment.
The court has up to six months to make a decision, after which Yun will be removed from office or reinstated as president.
