Seoul, South Korea - A South Korean court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol, granting a request by investigators probing a brief but damaging declaration of martial law.

The Corruption Investigation Office applied for an arrest warrant Monday, after Yoon refused on three separate occasions to show up for questioning

Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to face an arrest, according to the Yonhap new agency.

Once Yoon has been taken into custody, the office has 48 hours to decide whether to apply for an additional warrant to detain him for longer or release him, Yonhap reported.

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The Presidential Security Service has so far blocked investigators from entering the presidential office compound and Yoon's official residence to carry out court-approved searches, citing military security concerns.

Yoon's botched attempt to institute martial law on December 3 shocked the world but was rescinded just hours later following massive public resistance.

South Korea has been in political crisis ever since. The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on December 14, and the Constitutional Court will make a final decision on whether the assembly's vote is constitutional or not.

Choi Sang Mok has been acting president since Friday, after lawmakers voted to impeach then-acting president Han Duck Soo, barely two weeks after Yoon was removed from the presidency.

Yoon has labelled his political opponents "anti-state forces" and said that he made the declaration of martial law to protect the nation from vague and unsubstantiated threats.