South Korean court issues arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon

Arrest Warrant Issued for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

A South Korean court has approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was previously impeached and suspended from office. This marks the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced an arrest warrant.

Investigators sought the warrant after President Yoon failed to appear for questioning for a third time. The request was made by a joint investigation taskforce comprised of the National Office of Investigation, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), and the Criminal Investigation Command of the Defense Ministry.

The CIO has stated that the arrest warrant must be executed within seven days of approval but can be extended as necessary. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is currently serving as South Korea's interim leader after Yoon was impeached on December 14.

Martial Law Triggered Market Dip

On December 3, Yoon imposed martial law in a live television address, citing concerns about anti-state elements and threats from North Korea. This action led to a brief slump in crypto prices both domestically and internationally.

On South Korean crypto exchanges, the price of Bitcoin dropped by as much as $30,000 in six hours, attributed to a liquidity crisis exacerbated by the absence of key market players.

On international platforms, the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP also declined by up to 4% in response to the news. Crypto prices recovered quickly after the parliament ordered Yoon to lift the martial law on December 4.

The incident occurred the day following South Korea's second-highest level of retail crypto trading for the year, driven by a surge in interest in "high momentum" altcoins such as XRP, Dogecoin, and Stellar.