South Korean investigators abandon effort to detain impeached president after hours-long standoff

Seoul, South Korea — South Korean investigators left the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a near-six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt to detain him. It's the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.

The country's anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon's residence for hours due to concerns about their safety.

The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several scuffles with presidential security forces and expressed "serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not comply with the legal process."