South Korea’s anti-corruption agency has failed to detain the country’s impeached president after a standoff that lasted hours.
The decision came after investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul.
Thousands of officers were gathered at Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence and formed a perimeter around a growing number of supporters.
A warrant was issued for Yoon’s detention over his short-lived martial law decree last month,
In a defiant new year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence, the president said he would “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces”.
His lawyers have described the warrant to detain him as “invalid” and “illegal.”
Pic: AP
South Korea’s Defence Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds.
Investigators from the anti-corruption agency were earlier seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning.
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A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab on 3 December amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon.
Police vans lined up in front of Yoon’s Seoul residence. Pic: AP
If Yoon is detained, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him.
Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law enactment.
His presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on 14 December over his imposition of martial law.
The move only lasted a few hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets.
Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove him from office or reinstate him.