By Hyunjoo Jin and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security chief said on Friday that the accused leader, who faces arrest in a criminal investigation into his proposal to implement martial law on Dec. 3, has been unfairly treated as acting leader and warned that bloodshed must be avoided. .
Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), is under investigation for obstructing official duty related to a six-hour standoff last week between PSS officers and investigators attempting to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon.
Arriving at police headquarters for questioning, Park, a former senior police official, said the current attempt to arrest a sitting president is wrong and that Yoon deserved treatment “convenient” with the country’s status.
“I think there should be no physical confrontation or bloodshed under any circumstances,” Park told reporters, adding that acting President Choi Sang-mok has not responded to her request for security guarantees for the officials involved.
Hundreds of PSS officers blocked off the presidential complex and prevented investigators from attempting to arrest Yoon last Friday. The investigators withdrew due to the risk of confrontation.
Officials with the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO), which is leading the investigation, have said that the PSS agents were carrying firearms during the confrontation, although they did not draw weapons.
Investigators obtained a new arrest warrant this week after Yoon defied repeated subpoenas to appear for questioning.
On Thursday, Yoon’s lawyers said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.
Yoon is undergoing a separate trial at the Constitutional Court reviewing parliament’s impeachment of him on Dec. 14 to decide whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him. His lawyers have said Yoon will accept that verdict.
As Yoon awaits his fate, holed up inside his hillside residence, polls released this week showed a resurgence of support for his ruling People Power Party (PPP) and calls for his permanent ouster eased.
A Gallup Korea poll released on Friday showed that 64% of respondents supported removing Yoon from office, compared to 75% who were in favor shortly after martial law was declared.
The PPP’s approval rating rose to 34%, similar to the period before December 3, in the survey of 1,004 people this week, from 24% about a month ago.
Analysts said the prolonged uncertainty over Yoon’s fate has not only emboldened his supporters but softened some critics concerned that the leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, who is on trial on criminal charges, could become a president.