South Korea's ousted President Park Geun-hye was arrested in Seoul early Friday morning. Park, who was impeached and formally removed from office earlier this month over a corruption scandal, is facing charges "including bribery, extortion, and abuse of power," The New York Times reported. A South Korean court had approved Park's arrest after a hearing called on Thursday, and warned that if she was not quickly taken into custody she may "destroy evidence."
Park's ouster and subsequent arrest stemmed from a bribery scandal with her childhood friend, Choi Soon-sil, to extort millions of dollars in bribes from big businesses, including Samsung.
Park is South Korea's first female president, and The New York Times reported she is also the first former South Korean leader to be jailed since the 1990s, when "two former military dictators were imprisoned on corruption and mutiny charges."
Prosecutors will seek a formal indictment within the next 20 days.