By Hyunjoo Jin and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday the ousted leader, who is facing criminal arrest for his martial law appeal in Dec. .
Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), is himself under investigation for obstruction of justice related to a six-hour standoff last week between PSS agents and investigators trying to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon.
Reached at police headquarters for questions, Park, a former senior police officer, said the current efforts to arrest the sitting president are wrong and Yoon deserves the treatment of “belonging” to the country's situation.
“I believe there should be no physical conflict or bloodshed under any circumstances,” Park told reporters, adding that Acting President Choi Sang-mok had not responded to her request to ensure the safety of the officials involved.
Hundreds of PSS agents cordoned off the president's compound and prevented investigators from trying to arrest Yoon last Friday. The researchers were put off because of the risk of collision.
Officials of the Corruption Investigations Office (CIO), which led the investigation, said PSS officers were carrying guns during the confrontation although no weapons were fired.
Investigators obtained a new arrest warrant this week after Yoon defied repeated summonses to appear for questioning.
On Thursday, Yoon's lawyers said the arrest warrant was illegal and unconstitutional.
Yoon is undergoing a separate trial by the Constitutional Court which is reviewing his impeachment by parliament on December 14 to decide whether to remove him permanently or reinstate him. His lawyers said Yoon will accept the sentence.
As Yoon awaits his fate, confined to his hilltop residence, polls released this week showed a revival of support for his ruling People Power Party (PPP) and calls for his permanent removal.
A Gallup Korea survey published on Friday showed 64% of respondents favored Yoon's removal from office, compared to 75% who favored it immediately after the declaration of martial law.
Approval of the PPP increased to 34%, the same level as before Dec. 3, in a poll of 1,004 people this week, from 24% about a month ago.
Analysts say the prolonged uncertainty over Yoon's future has not only reassured his supporters but softened some critics that the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, who is also on trial on criminal charges, could become president.