The impeached president of South Korea avoided an arrest attempt after several hours of standoff

Recalled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday rebuffed an arrest attempt on Friday after an hours-long standoff between investigators from the state’s anti-corruption agency and presidential security.

The investigators left the president’s official residence after the presidential security service blocked their entry for nearly six hours due to concerns for their safety.

The agency expressed “serious regret for the attitude of the suspect who did not respond to the process according to the law”.

Yoon, who was recalled last month because of his short-lived martial law declaration, he defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. He has not left the residence since December 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, vowing to fight attempts to oust him from power.

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Apparently frustrated that his policies had been blocked by the opposition-dominated parliament, Yoon declared a state of emergency on December 3 and sent troops to surround National Assembly.

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours by a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on December 14, charging him with sedition. Anti-corruption authorities and state attorneys have since opened separate investigations.

A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but its enforcement is complicated as long as he remains at his official residence.

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Yoon’s lawyers, who filed an objection to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be executed at his residence because of a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from being searched without the consent of the person responsible.

The bureau said it would discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would try to arrest Yoon again. The order for his detention is valid for one week.

If the investigators have their way to detain Yoonthey will probably ask the court for permission to make an official arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

Thousands policemen gathered at Yoon’s residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags and chanting slogans of his support.

There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.

Nearly five hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the door of a Seoul residence to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have turned into a standoff. Two of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the door of the presidential residence around noon.

It was not clear whether investigators successfully entered Yoon’s apartment building, but South Korean broadcaster YTN reported a scuffle as investigators and police clashed with presidential security forces.

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Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14. Yoon’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun debating whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six judges from the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote for his dismissal from office.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.