South Korean authorities arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over insurrection accusations related to his December 3 martial law declaration, investigators said.

A motorcade was seen leaving the gates of his hillside residence where Yoon has been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire barriers and a small army of personal security.

More than 3,000 police officers and anti-corruption investigators had gathered there before dawn, pushing through throngs of Yoon supporters and members of his ruling People Power Party who protested attempts to detain him.

Yoon's lawyers have argued attempts to detain Yoon are illegal and are designed to publicly humiliate him. The warrant investigators secured for his arrest is the first-ever issued against an incumbent South Korean president.

Yoon has justified his declaration of martial law as a legitimate act of governance against an "anti-state" opposition employing its legislative majority to thwart his agenda.

The anti-corruption agency is leading a joint investigation with police and the military over whether Yoon's martial law declaration amounted to an attempted rebellion.

Law enforcement officers had sought to bring him into custody after he ignored several summons for questioning. (Agencies)