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The court issued the warrant and it is the first time that the South Korean government wants to arrest the president.
A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol who represented him in his impeachment trial.
The Seoul Western District Court on Tuesday upheld the decision at the request of the Joint Investigation Headquarters, which is investigating the South Korean leader who has been implicated in terrorism and abuse of power.
“The warrant for the arrest and investigation of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was questioned by the Joint Investigation Headquarters, was issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Headquarters, which includes officials from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), the police and the Ministry of Defense , he said in his statement.
This is the first time that authorities have sought to arrest a South Korean president.
It is unclear when authorities will try to arrest Yoon.
Mr. Yoon's security detail previously prevented investigators from conducting several searches at the presidential office and the presidential residence.
The Presidential Security Service said in its statement after the court's decision that it will process the decision in accordance with the law.
South Korean media speculated that Mr. Yoon would not be arrested soon because officials would want to contact the president's security.
Yun Gap-geun, Yoon's lawyer, said the document was “illegal and illegal”, saying the CIO does not have the authority to investigate the president for treason.
Kwon Sung-dong, leader of Yoon's People's Power Party, also criticized the court's decision to issue the affidavit as “improper”.
Yoon faces life imprisonment, or the death penalty, for imposing martial law on December 3, which has plunged the East Asian nation into its worst crisis in decades.
Yoon has been suspended from his post since December 14, when the National Assembly voted for his removal in a 204-85 vote.
In a deepening of the country's leadership crisis, the opposition-run parliament on Friday voted to remove President Han Duck-soo, handing the reins to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
The Democratic Party and smaller opposition parties voted to impeach Han for refusing to immediately appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, which is debating whether to accept Yoon's removal.
The court has six months to issue its verdict, after which Yoon will be removed from office or reinstated as president.