A South Korean court granted on Sunday an extension of President Yoon Suk Yeol's detention, saying there was "concern" that Yoon could "destroy evidence" in a criminal probe related to his short-lived declaration of martial law in early December.

Yoon’s detention, after a tense standoff outside the presidential residence, marks the latest chapter in a bewildering series of events since his martial law decree.

South Korea's president Yook Suk Yeol has been arrested by anti-corruption investigators, following a weeks-long stand-off between investigators and his personal security detail. The 64-year-old, who plunged South Korea into political turmoil with his short-lived martial law declaration on 3 December, is the first sitting president to be arrested.