South Korean president’s security chief resigns after warning of ‘bloodshed’ | Politics News
Park Jong-joon says citizens are worried about violence if authorities continue to try to arrest the suspended president.
The head of South Korea’s presidential security service has resigned after warning authorities to avoid “bloodshed” in any attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
Park Jong-joon, the head of the presidential security service, resigned on Friday amid an investigation into allegations of obstruction of public duty.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok’s office confirmed that he had accepted Park’s resignation after he appeared for police questioning earlier in the day.
Speaking after arriving for questioning, Park said many citizens were concerned about the possibility of violence if investigators tried to execute another arrest warrant for Yoon.
“I came today with the belief that under no circumstances should there be physical clashes or bloodshed, and I hope to prevent such incidents from occurring,” Park told reporters at the Joint Investigative Headquarters in Seoul.
The Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO) and police are preparing for a second attempt to detain Yoon after his security prevented investigators from executing a warrant at his office residence last week.
The anti-corruption agency gave up trying to detain Yoon after an hours-long standoff with presidential security last Friday, citing concerns for the safety of its staff.
Yoon, whose brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 plunged South Korea into its deepest political crisis in decades, is under investigation for alleged rebellion and abuse of power.
If arrested, Yoon, who was suspended from office following the December 14 impeachment vote in the National Assembly, will be the first sitting president to be detained in South Korea’s history.
Park, who had ignored two previous summonses to appear for questioning, said Yoon had been treated unfairly and that the investigations should be conducted in a manner befitting the “dignity of the nation”.
Yoon’s legal team argued that attempts to detain the suspended president lacked legal basis and called on authorities to charge him or seek an official arrest warrant, which requires a court hearing.
Meanwhile, polls released this week showed growing support for Yoon and his People’s Party (PPP) despite his legal troubles.
In a Gallup Korea poll released Friday, 64 percent of respondents said they supported Yoon’s removal from office, down from 75 percent shortly after the emergency decree.
The PPP’s approval rating rose to 34 percent, up from 24 percent about a month ago.
