S. Korea's court grants extension of warrant to arrest President Yoon

SEOUL -- South Korea's court on Tuesday granted the extension of the warrant to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The joint investigation unit, composed of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI) and the defense ministry's investigative headquarters, said in a notice that the warrant to arrest Yoon was issued again in the afternoon.

The unit requested the Seoul Western District Court to re-issue an arrest warrant against Yoon on Monday when the first warrant expired after failing to arrest Yoon last Friday.

It marked the first time in the Asian country's modern history that an arrest warrant was issued against a sitting president.

The validity term of the second warrant could reportedly be longer than the first one which was valid for a week.

The CIO investigators and police officers attempted to arrest the impeached president in the presidential residence on Jan 3, but it failed as the presidential security service blocked the execution of the warrant.

The impeachment motion against Yoon was passed in the National Assembly on Dec 14 last year and was delivered to the constitutional court to deliberate it for up to 180 days, during which Yoon's presidential power is suspended.

Yoon, who was named by investigative agencies as a suspected ringleader on an insurrection charge, declared martial law on the night of Dec 3, but it was revoked by the National Assembly hours later.