The arrest warrant that was recently issued against Yoon Suk-Yeol, for his decision to suddenly impose a state of emergency in the country on December 3rd, is valid until Monday.
The suspended president has so far refused to appear for questioning.
Overnight on Friday, South Korea’s anti-corruption agency made an attempt to arrest Yoon at his residence. But outside, the authorities were met by protesting supporters who had to be roughly carried away.
The police were also confronted by a military unit that was at the scene and later also by the ex-president’s bodyguard. After five hours of stalemate, the operation was finally called off.
“We judged that the execution of the arrest warrant was practically impossible due to the confrontation and terminated the execution due to a concern for the safety of the personnel on site,” the anti-corruption agency writes in a press release according to Yonhap.
Yoon’s lawyers have called the warrant illegal and have called for it to be lifted.