Presidential guards deny being Yoon's 'private army' amid arrest deadline countdown

The chief of security for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said yesterday he could not cooperate with efforts to arrest the impeached leader, in remarks that could push the political crisis towards another high-stakes confrontation.

With a warrant for Yoon's arrest on grounds of insurrection set to expire at midnight today, Park Chong Jun, cited the legal debate surrounding the warrant as the reason for the lack of cooperation.

"Please refrain from insulting remarks that the presidential security service has been reduced to a private army," he said, adding that it had provided security to all presidents for 60 years.

The comments came after a Seoul court rejected a complaint by Yoon's lawyers that the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.

Yoon became the first incumbent South Korean president to face arrest for his botched bid to declare martial law on December 3, which triggered chaos.

He was impeached by parliament and is suspended from official duties while the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate or remove him.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul yesterday for talks with senior officials.

On Friday, Yoon's presidential security service and military troops had blocked criminal investigators from arresting him in a six-hour standoff.

Park dismissed as "preposterous" an accusation by the main opposition Democratic Party that he had ordered presidential security officers to use live ammunition if they got "caught short" in Friday's standoff.

The dispute over the warrant came against the backdrop of rallies by thousands of protesters near Yoon's residence amid a heavy snowfall in Seoul with some rallies demanding his arrest and others opposing it.

"We have to re-establish the foundation of our society by punishing the president who has denied the constitution," said Yang Kyung Soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions leader.

REUTERS