Security chief of impeached President Yoon resigns

SEOUL

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025.

South Korea's presidential security chief resigned on Jan. 10 as he faced questioning over why his guards prevented the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, and as investigators prepared to make a fresh arrest attempt.

Yoon last week resisted arrest in a standoff between his guards and investigators after his short-lived power grab plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

Yoon's Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Park Chong-jun, a former police officer, submitted his resignation on Jan. 10 morning "as he attended a police questioning," a PSS official told AFP.

It was later accepted by acting President Choi Sang-mok, an official from the interim leader's office told reporters.

It came as a joint investigation team from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) and the police prepare to mount a new bid to arrest Yoon over his martial law declaration.

Choi later said in a statement sent to AFP that both ruling and opposition parties should "agree on establishing a special prosecutor investigation law" to find a way out of the crisis.

Rival protest camps in sub-zero temperatures are calling for Yoon's impeachment to be declared invalid on one side, and for him to be immediately detained on the other.

Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.

His legal team has said they will not comply with the current warrant.