The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials(CIO) began to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection with his botched martial law attempt in early December. 

In a statement issued at 8:04 a.m. Friday, the CIO announced that the execution of the arrest warrant has begun.

A vehicle carrying CIO investigators left the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at 6:14 a.m. and arrived in front of the presidential residence in Seoul at 7:21 a.m.

The investigators got out of the vehicle and waited, then entered the presidential residence at 8:02 a.m. when the gate opened. 

The move comes four days after the Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant for Yoon, who is suspected of abusing his power and leading an insurrection by unlawfully imposing martial law, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.

The police deployed 27-hundred personnel near the presidential residence to maintain order and prevent clashes among protesters.