BEIJING — Supporters of suspended South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol blocked access to his office on Thursday in an attempt to prevent his arrest, the Yonhap news agency reported.
It said police had violently broken up a blockade by around 30 supporters who had broken through a barrier near the president’s residence in the South Korean capital Seoul.
Footage of the demonstrators could also be seen on South Korean television.
Yoon had issued a message of solidarity to his supporters on New Year’s Day, saying: “Due to internal and external forces infringing on its sovereignty and the activities by anti-state groups, South Korea is now in danger.”
“With you, I will fight to the end to protect this country,” he added.
He is being investigated after unexpectedly imposing martial law on December 3 following a budget dispute with the opposition.
A South Korean Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon on Tuesday after he ignored three summonses from the Corruption Investigation Office to appear for questioning, prompting the office to apply for his arrest.
The prosecution’s charges include insurrection and abuse of power.
Yoon’s defence lawyers have applied for a temporary injunction against the order, describing it as “illegal,” Yonhap reported.
The arrest warrant is to expire on Monday. Once Yoon has been taken into custody, investigators have 48 hours to decide whether to apply for an additional warrant to detain him for longer or release him, Yonhap reported.
South Korea is now in the throes of an acute political crisis.
Following his botched attempt to institute martial law, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, and the Constitutional Court has launched the relevant proceedings to make a final decision on whether the assembly’s vote is constitutional.
Yoon’s successor as acting president, Han Duck Soo, was subsequently removed from office, after opposition lawmakers criticized him for failing to fill vacant seats on the Constitutional Court in what they saw as an effort to complicate the impeachment proceedings.
Former finance minister and deputy prime minister Choi Sang Mok has been acting president since Friday.
Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to face an arrest, according to Yonhap.
