South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's security chief said on Friday the impeached leader, who faces arrest over a criminal probe into his Dec. 3 martial law bid, has been unfairly treated for a sitting leader and warned bloodshed must be avoided.

South Korean authorities have granted a request to extend a warrant to detain the country’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his surprise declaration of martial law last month.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a new and potentially more robust attempt to arrest him for insurrection after a top investigator vowed to do whatever it takes to break a security blockade and take in the impeached leader.

“South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will accept the decision of the Constitutional Court that is trying parliament’s impeachment case against him, even if it decides to remove the suspended leader from office,” his lawyer said on Thursday (January 9, 2025).

Impeached leader’s security prevent police from executing warrant to detain him for questioning over last month’s martial law decree

Authorities sought on Friday to execute an unprecedented arrest warrant for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, evading a crowd of protesters but facing off with security forces inside his residence.

A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, the embattled leader who plunged the country into political chaos by his shock decision to declare martial law nearly a month ago.

South Korean presidential security chief Park Chong-jun plans to appear for questioning by police on Friday, a spokesperson for the security service said. Investigators seeking to arrest South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for possible insurrection were blocked by his security staff in a six-hour standoff last week.

With a warrant out for his arrest, South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol has hunkered down in his hillside villa for weeks. Investigators failed to detain him Jan. 3. As they prepare a new attempt, presidential guards are fortifying the residence.