The information director said that concern for the safety of the team on the ground was another factor that led to their decision to call off the arrest attempt.
Investigators have until Jan. 6 to arrest Yoon before the current warrant expires. However, they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.
Since early morning, dozens of police vans lined the street outside Yoon’s residence in central Seoul.
Around 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT), a group of detainees, consisting of police officers and members of the IT directorate, headed to the compound.
It started with a team of 20 people but quickly grew to 150 people.
While about half of the detainees were able to get inside, they were locked in for several hours in a standoff with security officers – who are still in charge of guarding Yoon despite being stripped of their powers – and a military unit. in charge of security for the city of Seoul.
At one point, the security team engaged in a “confrontation with the IT director at the presidential residence,” a representative of Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.
Before the attempt was called off, Yuna’s security told the news agency that they were “in talks” with investigators trying to gain access to the president.
Members of Yoon’s legal team were also seen entering the residence just after noon local time.
His lawyer Yoon Gab Keun earlier said they would take legal action over the arrest warrant, which they called “illegal and invalid.”
A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant earlier this week after Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning in the past two weeks.
On Friday, prosecutors also indicted army chief Park Ahn-su, who was named martial law commander during a brief declaration last month, and special forces commander Kwak Jong-geun on charges of rebellion, Seoul-based news outlet Yonhap reported.
They are awaiting trial in prison.
