South Korean investigators attempt to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators arrived at the presidential residence with a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law, but faced resistance from presidential security staff as hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered outside vowing to protect him.

It’s the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month. It began on Dec. 3 when Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours in an unanimous vote and impeached Yoon himself on Dec. 14, while South Korean authorities opened a criminal investigation into the events. Yoon has remained defiant, ignoring requests for questioning and vowing to fight to remain in office.

Four hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff.

The anti-corruption agency didn’t immediately reply to questions about whether investigators successfully entered Yoon’s residential building, but South Korea’s YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.

Seok Dong-hyeon, one of several lawyers on Yoon’s legal team, confirmed that the investigators arrived at the building but said it was unlikely that they would be able to detain the president on Friday. He said the agency’s efforts to detain Yoon were “reckless” and showed an “outrageous discard for law.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds before arriving at the building. The presidential security service, which controls the residence itself, refused to comment on whether its members were confronting investigators and whether they planned to block the detention attempt.

The hourslong standoff prompted the liberal opposition Democratic Party to call on the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to order the presidential security service to stand down. Choi, who also serves as finance minister, didn’t immediately comment on the situation.

“We warn presidential security service chief Park Jong-joon not to further participate in a rebellion. Do not drag the upright staff of the presidential security service and other public officials into the depths of crime,” said Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker. Choi must “remember that swiftly addressing the rebellion and preventing further chaos is your responsibility,” Jo said.

In a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence, Yoon said he will “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces.” His lawyers have described the warrant as “invalid” and “illegal,” and said that the presidential security force could arrest police trying to execute it.

Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon’s residence and formed a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters, who braved subfreezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting slogans in his support. There were no immediate reports of major clashes.

A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.

The warrant is valid for one week, and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon if they are unable to do so on Friday.

Investigators from the anti-corruption agency were earlier seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning. Television footage later showed some of those vehicles weaving between police buses that tightly packed and barricaded the streets near Yoon’s residence.

If Yoon is detained, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him. Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the period of martial law.

Yoon Kap-keun, another lawyer representing the president, described the investigators’ efforts to detain him as illegal and said they would plan to pursue unspecified legal steps against the anti-corruption agency.

Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers have argued the court’s detainment warrant is invalid, claiming that the anti-corruption agency lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges. They also accuse the court of bypassing a law that says locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge.

The lawyers have said police officers would be exceeding their legal authority if they assist in detaining Yoon, and could face arrest by either the “presidential security service or any citizens.” They didn’t elaborate further on the claim.

Critics accused Yoon of inciting his supporters to obstruct attempts to detain him. South Korean law permits anyone to make an arrest to stop an active crime.

The Democratic Party, which drove the legislative vote that impeached Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, accused the president of trying to mobilize his supporters to block his detention and called for law enforcement authorities to execute the warrant immediately.

Yoon Kap-keun, the president’s lawyer, filed a challenge with the Seoul Western District Court on Thursday to block both the detention warrant for Yoon Suk Yeol and a related search warrant for his residence. The lawyer argued that both warrants violate criminal laws and the constitution.

Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, which lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.

To formally end Yoon’s presidency, at least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor.

The National Assembly voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Yoon’s case.

Facing growing pressure, the new acting president, Choi, appointed two new justices on Tuesday, which could increase the chances of the court upholding Yoon’s impeachment.

Yoon’s imposition of martial law ended after only six hours when the National Assembly voted 190-0 to lift it despite attempts by heavily armed soldiers to prevent them from voting.

Yoon has defended his martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, portraying it as a temporary warning against the Democratic Party, which he has described as an “anti-state” force obstructing his agenda with its legislative majority.

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, as police offices stand guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. The sign reads "Oppose Impeachment." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Police vehicles are seen near the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Police officers arrive at the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials arrive at the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Police and barricades are placed in front of the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, as police offices stand guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, as police offices stand guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials arrive at the gate of the presidential residence as supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, as police offices stand guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Police officers drag away supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Police officers escort away a supporter of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

FILE - In this photo provided by the South Korean President Office, the country's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 14, 2024. (South Korean Presidential Office via AP, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter begin Saturday in Georgia, where he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

The first events reflect Carter’s climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, to decades on the global stage as a humanitarian and advocate for democracy.

Here is what to know about the initial ceremonies and what happens next:

The proceedings, streamed on apnews.com and the Associated Press YouTube channel, are scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. EST Saturday with the Carter family arriving at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus.

Former Secret Service agents who protected Carter will serve as pallbearers, walking alongside the hearse as it exits the campus on its way to Plains.

James Earl Carter Jr. lived more than 80 of his 100 years in and around the town, which still has fewer than 700 people, not much more than when he was born on Oct. 1, 1924. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton also grew up in rural settings, but Carter stands out for returning and remaining in his birthplace for his long post-presidency.

The motorcade will move through downtown Plains, which spans just a few blocks, passing near the girlhood home of first lady Rosalynn Smith Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96, and near where the couple operated the family peanut warehouses. The route also includes the old train depot that served as Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign headquarters and the gas station once run by Carter's younger brother Billy.

The motorcade will then pass by the Methodist church where the Carters married in 1946, and the home where they lived and died. The former president will be buried there alongside Rosalynn.

The Carters built the one-story house, now surrounded by Secret Service fencing, before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and lived out their lives there with the exception of four years in the Governor's Mansion and four more in the White House.

The military-run schedule calls for a 10:50 a.m. stop in front of Carter's family farm and boyhood home in Archery, outside Plains, after passing the cemetery where the former president's parents, James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Carter, are buried.

The farm now is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. The National Park Service will ring the old farm bell 39 times to honor the 39th president.

Carter was the first president born in a hospital. But the home had no electricity or running water when he was born, and he worked his father's land during the Great Depression. Still, the Carters had relative privilege and status. Earl employed Black tenant farming families. The elder Carter also owned a store in Plains and was a local civic and political leader. Lillian was a nurse and she delivered Rosalynn. The property still includes a tennis court Earl had built for the family.

It was Earl's death in 1953 that set Jimmy on course toward the Oval Office. The younger Carters had left Plains after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. But Jimmy abandoned a promising career as a submarine officer and early participant in the Pentagon's nuclear program to take over the family's peanut business after his father's death. Within a decade, he was elected to the Georgia state Senate.

From Archery, the motorcade will head north to Atlanta and will stop at 3 p.m. outside at the Georgia Capitol, where he served as a state senator from 1963 to 1967 and governor from 1971 to 1975. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will lead a moment of silence. While former governors are honored with state-run funerals, presidents — even if they served as governors — are memorialized with national rites run by the federal government.

The motorcade then is scheduled to arrive at the Carter Presidential Center at 3:45 p.m., with a private service at 4 p.m. The campus includes Carter’s presidential library and The Carter Center, established by the former president and first lady in 1982.

From 7 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Monday, Carter will lie in repose for the public to pay respects around the clock.

The ceremony is expected to include some of The Carter Center's global staff of 3,000, whose work concentrating on international diplomacy and mediation, election monitoring and fighting disease in the developing world continues to set a standard for what former presidents can accomplish.

Jimmy Carter, who delivered its annual reports until 2019, won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in part for this post-presidential work. His grandson Jason Carter now chairs the board.

Carter's remains will travel next to Washington, where he will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until his funeral at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. All the living presidents have been invited, and Joe Biden, a Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy.

The Carter family then will return to bury its patriarch in Plains after a private hometown funeral at 3:45 p.m. at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter, a devout evangelical, taught Sunday School for decades.

Carter will be buried afterward in a private graveside service, in a plot visible from the front porch of his home.

A memorial wreath of cotton bolls is seen at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Archery, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

A woman looks at items left in tribute to former President Jimmy Carter at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Atlanta. Carter died Sunday at he age of 100. (AP Photo/John Bazemore )

A jar of peanuts is among the items left in tribute to former President Jimmy Carter at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Atlanta. Carter died Sunday at he age of 100. (AP Photo/John Bazemore )

A woman leaves flowers in tribute to former President Jimmy Carter at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Atlanta. Carter died Sunday at he age of 100. (AP Photo/John Bazemore )

A Habitat for Humanity hard hat is among the items left in tribute to former President Jimmy Carter at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Atlanta. Carter died Sunday at he age of 100. (AP Photo/John Bazemore )

Tom Chaffin, of Atlanta, leaves flowers at the entrance to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Atlanta. Carter died Sunday at he age of 100. (AP Photo/John Bazemore )