By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean investigators will seek an extension of a warrant to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, an official said on Monday, as an anti-graft agency asked police to take over efforts to execute the arrest of the embattled leader.
The launch event came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials will likely seek a new court warrant to extend the window for Yoon’s detention, according to police.
The government has little to show for the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on pro-natal policies over nearly two decades.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence in South Korea’s acting leader as the two nations reaffirmed their security alliance and combat readiness against North Korea at a time when Seoul is struggling to restore political stability.
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided an arrest attempt Friday after an hourslong standoff between anti-corruption investigators and presidential security.
A standoff between the impeached president’s security team and officials seeking to detain him was echoed on the streets outside the presidential residence.
Although most people in South Korea are upset and angry at Yoon's decision to impose martial law, a core of his supporters have stayed loyal. Some even camped overnight, in freezing temperatures, to try and stop police reaching his home.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.
Right-wing YouTube​rs helped President Yoon Suk Yeol​ win his election. They are now his allies in the wake of his botched imposition of martial law.
Taiwan has asked South Korea for assistance investigating a Chinese-owned ship suspected of cutting a subsea cable off its northern coast on Friday.