The central government's anti-corruption office warns that anyone who obstructs an arrest could be prosecuted.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested on an impeachment warrant that announced a temporary suspension of military service to expire next week, the country's top prosecutor said.
Oh Dong-woon, director of the Office of Corruption Investigation for Senior Officials, told reporters on Wednesday that the verdict on Yoon's arrest will be issued “in due course”, with the deadline being Monday.
“We want things to go smoothly without any major disruptions, but we are also working together to strengthen the police and staff in preparation,” Oh told reporters at the government building in Gwacheon, south of Seoul.
Oh warned that anyone trying to prevent Yoon's arrest could be prosecuted.
“We see things like setting up different bars and closing iron doors to prevent construction as hindering their work,” he said.
Speculation over when and how authorities will take Yoon into custody has reached the point where the Joint Investigation Headquarters is seeking an arrest warrant for Yoon, which a Seoul court issued on Tuesday.
Yoon's security detail previously prevented investigators from executing several search warrants for the president, and local media said authorities could not forcibly arrest the leader without contacting his bodyguards.
If arrested, Yoon would be the first president in South Korea's history to be arrested.
He faces charges of abuse of power and treason, a crime that carries a life sentence or the death penalty, for imposing martial law on December 3, which plunged South Korea into its worst crisis in decades.
Yoon's legal team said the document is “illegal and invalid” as investigators do not have the power to investigate the president for treason.
Yoon, who served as a prosecutor before entering politics, has been suspended from his post since December 14, when the National Assembly. voted 204-85 for his suspension.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has been acting as president since Friday, when parliament voted to impeach Yoon's successor, Han Duck-soo, for refusing to appoint three judges to the country's Constitutional Court.
The court is debating whether to accept Yoon's dismissal or restore his leadership, which could take up to six months.
Choi on Tuesday approved the appointment of two judges appointed by parliament, leaving only one person on the bench.
At least six judges on the nine-member court must approve Yoon's removal from office.
Yoon has defended his brief martial law as legitimate and necessary, citing “anti-government” threats and the detention of his opponents.