Investigators withdrew from Yoon Suk Yeol's residence after the South Korean presidential security service blocked their attempt to arrest him during a six-hour standoff.
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South Korean authorities have suspended an attempt to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and left his residence in Seoul after an almost six-hour standoff with security forces.
The country's anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence due to concerns about their safety.
The agency expressed "serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law."
Investigators had previously forced their way through crowds of Yoon's supporters who had gathered outside his official residence before facing off against the Presidential Security Service (PSS).
The PSS had previously blocked access to investigators with a warrant to search Yoon's office and residence and it was widely expected that they would prevent his detention.
The events in the early hours of Friday morning were the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.
It began on 3 December when Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.
Parliament overturned that declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on 14 December, while South Korean authorities opened a criminal investigation into the events.
Yoon has, however, remained defiant, ignoring requests for questioning and vowing to fight to remain in office.
Seok Dong-hyeon, one of several lawyers on Yoon’s legal team, confirmed that the investigators arrived at the building but said it was unlikely that they would be able to detain the president on Friday.
He called the corruption agency's efforts to detain Yoon as "reckless" and showed an "outrageous disregard for the law."
South Korea's Defence Ministry had previously confirmed that investigators and police officers had got past a military unit guarding the residence's grounds before arriving at the building.
The standoff prompted the liberal opposition Democratic Party to call on the country's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to order the presidential security service to stand down.
In a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence, Yoon said he would "fight to the end" against what he called "anti-state forces".
His lawyers described the arrest warrant as "invalid" and "illegal" and said that the presidential security force could arrest police trying to execute it.
Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon's residence and formed a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters, who braved subfreezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and US flags while chanting slogans in his support.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon's detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week and investigators could make another attempt to detain Yoon following the failed attempt on Friday.