A court in the South Korean capital, Seoul, approved a request from the country's legal authorities on Tuesday to detain the deposed president, Yoon Suk-yeol.
Korean media reported that the Western District Court in Seoul issued an arrest warrant against Yoon for imposing a short-term military emergency, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.
Among the charges against Yoon are orchestrating the declaration of a military emergency on December 3, organizing a rebellion, and abuse of power.
On Monday, investigators in Seoul announced that they had requested the judiciary to issue an arrest warrant for the president, who was impeached by parliament after declaring martial law, due to his failure to appear for questioning.
Investigators summoned Yoon three times for questioning, but he refused to attend each time, including by the Sunday deadline.
Yoon declared martial law briefly this month, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades.
As a result, parliament stripped him of his presidential duties, but the Constitutional Court has yet to issue a ruling on his impeachment.