South Korea’s Yoon Finally Arrested by Investigators

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol became the first incumbent president in the country’s history to be taken into custody when he was finally arrested in a pre-dawn operation over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. Law enforcement had abandoned a prior attempt to detain him earlier this month after a nearly six-hour standoff due to resistance from Yoon’s security team. The impeached leader said that he agreed to be questioned to avoid any “unsavory bloodshed” while still insisting his appearance did not mean he accepted the legitimacy of the investigation. Wednesday’s arrest means the probe can continue into the botched move that blindsided the nation and its allies, whipsawed markets and triggered the country’s worst constitutional crisis in decades. Yoon can be held for as long as 48 hours for questioning after which the authorities must decide whether to release him or seek a formal arrest warrant the would allow them to hold him for as long as 20 days.

Chip curbs are escalating. The US is looking to eliminate backdoors through which Chinese customers such as Huawei are acquiring advanced chips. Officials plan to unveil more regulations encouraging chip producers like TSMC, Samsung and Intel to more carefully scrutinize customers and increase due diligence, according to people familiar with the matter. The rules would build on global chip curbs unveiled on Monday that limit the sale of AI chips by the likes of Nvidia to data centers in most countries.