South Korea’s acting leader accepts resignation of presidential security chief

South Korea's acting leader accepts security chief's resignation amid tensions over impeached President Yoon's detention.

South Korea’s acting leader on Friday (January 10, 2025) accepted the resignation of the chief of the presidential security service, Park Jong-joon, as he faced police questioning over how his forces blocked law enforcement efforts to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol last week.

The acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, also expressed regret over the clashes between law enforcement officials and the presidential security service and called for lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement to launch an independent investigation.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police are planning a second attempt to bring Mr. Yoon into custody as they jointly investigate whether his brief martial law declaration on December 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion. The presidential security service blocked an earlier attempt to detain Yoon at his official residence, which he has not left for weeks.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Mr. Park’s resignation and Mr. Choi’s call for an independent investigation to take over the probe on Yoon would affect the push to bring Yoon into custody.

“The government has been deliberating to find a wise solution, but unfortunately, within our current legal framework, it’s difficult to find a clear resolution to end the conflict between the two agencies,” Choi said about the tensions between the anti-corruption office and presidential security service over Mr. Yoon’s potential detention.

“We urge the ruling and opposition parties to work together to agree on a bill to launch a special prosecutor investigation that is free from constitutional issues. This will naturally resolve the ongoing intense standoff.”

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party accused Mr. Choi of legitimising Mr. Yoon’s refusal to comply with a court-issued warrant under the guise of neutrality.