The Seoul court has issued an arrest warrant for ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol over his attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
The order comes after Yun, who is under investigation for abuse of power and inciting sedition, ignored three summonses to appear for questioning in the past two weeks.
Yun's legal team called the order “illegal and invalid” and said it would challenge it in court.
South Korea has been in political crisis since the short-lived declaration of martial law, with Yoon and his successor impeached by parliament.
Yoon is the first sitting president of South Korea to face arrest.
Investigators have until Jan. 6 to comply with the warrant and can request an extension.
However, it is unclear whether the investigators will be able to carry out the order, as they may be thwarted by his security team and protesters.
The Presidential Security Service had previously blocked investigators from entering the grounds of the presidential office and Yun's private residence to conduct court-approved searches.
In the past, South Korean authorities have abandoned attempts to arrest prominent politicians after their aides and supporters physically blocked police.
On Monday, Yun's legal team said investigators did not have the power to arrest him because declaring martial law was within the president's constitutional powers.
Yun previously defended his decision to declare martial law and promised to “fight to the end” – though he also said he would not shirk his legal and political responsibilities.
His lawyer, Yoon Gap-gyun, said Yoon's failure to comply with the previous three subpoenas was due to “legitimate concerns.”
Yoon's whereabouts are not publicly known, but he is banned from leaving the country.
Although he has been suspended from presidential duties since December 14 after lawmakers voted to impeach him, he can only be removed from office if his impeachment is upheld by the country's constitutional court.
Currently, there are only six judges in the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court. That means a rejection would save Yoon from suspension.
Opposition lawmakers had hoped the appointment of three additional judges would improve the chances of impeaching Yoon, but their proposal was vetoed by Prime Minister Han Duk-su last week.
The opposition has since voted to impeach Khan, who stepped in as acting leader after Yun's removal.
Now they are threatening to do the same to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is currently acting president and acting prime minister.
Additional reporting by Kelly Ng