S. Korean investigators question President Yoon after arrest

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was arrested and questioned by the authorities on Jan. 15 in relation to a criminal insurrection investigation, said he was cooperating with what he called an illegal probe only to avoid violence.

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His arrest, the first for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia's most vibrant democracies, even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders.

Since lawmakers voted to impeach him and remove him from duties after his short-lived Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, Mr. Yoon had been holed up at his hillside residence, guarded by a small army of presidential security personnel that blocked a previous arrest attempt.

He agreed to come in for questioning after more than 3,000 police officers determined to arrest him marched on his residence in the early hours of Jan. 15.

"I decided to respond to the CIO's investigation - despite it being an illegal investigation - to prevent unsavory bloodshed," Mr. Yoon said in a statement, referring to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials that is heading the criminal probe.

A prosecutor accompanied Mr. Yoon in his car from his home in the upscale area known as Seoul's Beverly Hills to the austere CIO offices, where he slipped in through a back entrance, avoiding the media.

The authorities have 48 hours to question Mr. Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.

However, Mr. Yoon is refusing to talk and has not agreed to have interviews with investigators recorded on video, a CIO official said.

The CIO said it had no information on why Mr. Yoon was refusing to talk. The questioning will continue after Mr. Yoon finishes a dinner of bean paste soup, the CIO official said, though late-night questioning has not been decided.

Mr. Yoon will stay at the Seoul Detention Centre before further questioning, according to investigators, while a Reuters witness reported seeing a presidential motorcade leaving the CIO office.