South Korea investigators halt Yoon arrest attempt

South Korean investigators have failed to carry out an arrest warrant against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after arriving at his residence to execute it.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that they faced resistance upon arrival and were then locked in a nearly six-hour-long standoff.

The investigators entered the presidential residence through heavy security barricades and Yonhap reported that the attempts to proceed were hindered by a military unit inside the compound.

After managing to "move past" the unit, they were confronted by the Presidential Security Service still protecting the impeached president.

The impeached president is under criminal investigation over his short-lived bid on December 3 to impose martial law, which has plunged the country into a political and constitutional crisis.

What else do we know about the standoff?

Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) called off the arrest attempt at around 1:30 p.m. (0430 UTC/GMT) due to concerns over the safety of its personnel.

"It was judged that it was virtually impossible to execute the arrest warrant due to the ongoing standoff," the CIO said in a statement.

A CIO official told reporters that over 200 Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel and more military troops seconded to presidential security outnumbered some 20 investigators and 80 police personnel. They formed several layers of human chains to block them.

Though they appeared to be carrying firearms, the official said that no weapons were drawn in the standoff.

The CIO office said it will discuss its next move. It was unclear whether they planned on making another attempt to detain Yoon.

The police announced designating the PSS chief and the deputy as suspects in a criminal case over their obstruction of official duty, Yonhap news reported. They have been summoned to appear for questioning on Saturday.

How did Yoon's lawyer respond?

In response to the investigators' arrival on Friday, Yoon's lawyer said they were not acting lawfully and that further legal action would be taken against the move.

"The execution of a warrant that is illegal and invalid is indeed not lawful," Yoon's lawyer Yoon Kap Keun said, adding that "legal actions will be taken regarding the illegal execution of the warrant."

On Tuesday, a Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon's arrest after he failed to appear for questioning after multiple requests and blocked searches of his offices in the South Korean capital. It is valid for one week, and due to expire after Monday.

The lawyers argue that Yoon's warrant cannot be enforced at his residence, citing a law which protects from search locations with possible links to military secrets, so long as the consent of the person in charge is not obtained.

Authorities are looking into whether Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3 amounted to rebellion.

He could become the first sitting president to be arrested in  South Korea's history. 

Yoon supporters continue to protest

Hundreds of the president's supporters gathered at his residence in an effort to block investigators.

The embattled president had vowed to "fight until the end" while facing arrest.

Supporters who had gathered on Thursday to protest the arrest warrant against Yoon camped overnight and chanted "illegal warrant is invalid" on Friday morning as investigators and media convened at the presidential residence.

The president had told his supporters on Thursday: "I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you."

The Presidential Security Service continues to protect Yoon as the sitting head of state and had blocked previous police raids of the residence.

km, sdi/jsi (AP, AFP, Reuters)