South Korea: Acting President tells govt agencies to avoid any physical clash during Yoon's arrest

Seoul, Jan 8 South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Wednesday urged government agencies, including the secret service, to avoid any physical confrontation during the process of arresting President Yoon Suk-yeol, who remains in his fortified compound.

"Ensure that no harm comes to citizens, and avoid any unfortunate incidents such as physical clashes between government agencies under any circumstances," Choi said during a government meeting.

On Friday, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is investigating Yoon for alleged insurrection, attempted to execute a court-issued warrant for his arrest but withdrew after a five-hour standoff with the Presidential Security Service (PSS).

Despite calls from the CIO to tell the PSS to stand down, Choi has so far refrained from actively exercising his authority to provide guidelines.

The PSS reinforced Yoon's presidential residence earlier this week by installing barbed wire and barricades, and using buses to block access to the residence in Seoul.

Meanwhile, the CIO has announced its plan to thoroughly execute the warrant through an apparently pending second attempt to detain Yoon.

Following the impeachment of both Yoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the main Opposition Democratic Party (DP) has called for an investigation against Choi, accusing him of dereliction of duty for failing to act.

Additionally, the DP has criticised Choi for not taking any action against Park Chong-jun, head of the PSS, despite his role in obstructing the CIO's attempt to detain Yoon, Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's police said they were tracking President Yoon Suk Yeol's location amid rumors that he may have fled his residence while facing the threat of arrest over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

"We cannot specifically disclose President Yoon's location," a police official told Yonhap News Agency. "We continue to track his location."

However, the Presidential office denied speculations that President Yoon Suk Yeol might have fled his residence amid investigators' attempts to detain him for a probe into his short-lived imposition of martial law.

Source: IANS