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Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

With a thick blanket of snow covering the South Korean capital, crowds of protesters that were in their tens of thousands have thinned substantially.

Roads, some at least eight lanes wide, were closed and police out in force as South Koreans took to the streets both in support of and against the impeached president on Saturday.

The rise and fall of Yoon Suk Yeol

Photo shows Yoon Suk Yeol stands behind a podium, speaking into a microphone, with two flags behind him

South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached in a historic vote.

A few of the most fervent stilled braved the cold and snow, many wrapped in silver emergency blankets as they screamed slogans about President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Police have largely kept the two camps separate, but where they are at their closest, small scuffles have broken out between demonstrators and officers as the protesters call to each other across a small buffer zone.

A small group of Yoon supporters are camped out on a road leading up to the presidential residence, in the hope they can block any attempts to arrest Mr Yoon.

"I came here to protect the president," Kim Kyung Sik told the ABC, while shivering in the bitter cold.

"People make him out to be a bad person, but I don't think that."

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Mr Kim says he is protesting to protect the president. (ABC News: Fletcher Yeung)

Why isn't there another arrest attempt?

It's been two days now since the Corruption Investigation Office for High Ranking Officials (CIO) unsuccessfully attempted to arrest Mr Yoon.

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Some protesters are calling for Yoon Suk Yeol to hand himself in to police, and others say he should remain defiant. (ABC News: Fletcher Yeung)

He remains holed up in the residence compound, likely waiting out the time until the warrant expires on Monday.

With that deadline rapidly approaching, why wouldn't the investigators just try again while the weather keeps people away?

South Korean investigators fail to arrest president after stand-off

Photo shows Protesters wearing dark clothes and brandishing US flags and banners alongside a line of police in hi-viz yellow jackets

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Anti-corruption investigators now only have three more days to successfully detain impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol under a one-week, court-issued warrant.

"The biggest reason is that the coup d'état and the internal rebellion itself have not ended," says veteran journalist turned political columnist Byun Sang Wook.

"Bloodshed may be risked, but in Korean society, who fires first has great political significance.

"The situation is one where the prosecution is trying to build up more justification to avoid a major mess, the conservatives are waiting for the people to rally and the impeachment drive to tire, and the cabinet members are watching the power struggle between the two sides and waiting for an opportunity."

The CIO is investigating Mr Yoon for insurrection and abuse of power over his stunning declaration of martial law on December 3.

He lifted it after only 6 hours, the parliament having quickly voted to block the declaration.

But the damage was done and within two weeks, he'd been impeached and suspended from his duties.

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Corruption Investigation Office for High Ranking Officials (CIO) unsuccessfully attempted to arrest President Yoon. (AP: South Korean Presidential Office/Yonhap)

On Friday, investigators and the police accompanying them entered the presidential residence compound but were blocked by about 200 presidential security staff and attached military personnel from executing the warrant, according to a CIO official.

The scandals that triggered Yoon's downfall

Photo shows Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee stand with a line of guards at a wreath laying ceremony.

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol opted for the nuclear option when he declared martial law. But it followed months of scandals, low approval ratings and a stand-off with a hostile parliament.

"The security of the president and the presidential office is in three stages: the police at the outermost, the security corps dispatched by the Capital Defense Command, and the security office," explains Mr Byun, adding that the security office is preventing the arrest based on the Presidential Security Act.

"The police did not prevent the arrest, and the security corps is in flux — the security office is desperately preventing the arrest.

"The reason that they refused to conduct a search and seizure was to maintain the confidentiality of the presidential office and to protect the president's residence, which is considered unauthorised intrusion."

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Yoon has vowed to fight alongside his supporters. (ABC News: Fletcher Yeung)

Yoon vows to 'fight until the end'

In a letter to his supporters, Mr Yoon vowed to "fight until the end to protect this country together with you", according to one of his lawyers.

President Yoon's legal team is challenging the arrest warrant, applying for an injunction in the courts calling it "unlawful" and "invalid".

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

Pro-Yoon protesters have remained despite a large police presence and counter-protesters outside the impeached president's residence in Seoul. (Reuters: Tyrone Siu)

South Korean newspaper the Chosun Daily reported on Sunday morning that Mr Yoon's lawyers also planned to file charges against around 150 people, accusing them of obstructing official duties and causing bodily harm, trespassing on special structures and violation of the Military Base and Military Facility Protection Act.

The group includes senior officials from the Senior Civil Servants' Corruption Investigation Office and the National Police Agency, the vice-minister of national defence and the chief prosecutor as well as investigators.

Meanwhile, the CIO is calling on Acting President Choi Sang-mok to order the presidential security service to allow them to execute the arrest warrant.

Did airport layout doom Korean plane?

Photo shows A burned plane at the end of a runway

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

The investigation into the Jeju Air plane crash will take several weeks, but some experts say the placement of a concrete barrier at Muan Airport may have played a key role in the deadly aviation disaster.

Mr Choi is also dealing with the aftermath and investigation into the horrific Jeju Air plane crash which killed 179 people in the country's south a week ago.

"If the acting president orders the security office to enter, they can make arrests, but the acting president is not moving due to political pressure," Mr Byun said.

"The ruling party is claiming that the arrest warrant was issued by a lower court called Seoul Western District Court, not the central court with jurisdiction, and is therefore invalid.

"As a result, the military and the security service can take the position that they cannot follow the arrest warrant because there is a legal dispute over it."

Another warrant

Mr Byun believes the CIO will likely try one last time on Monday to arrest the president, as even if unsuccessful it could help their efforts to get another warrant.

That would coincide with a visit from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's visiting South Korea, Japan and France one last time before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump in two weeks' time.

Impeached South Korean president holes up at home as arrest deadline approaches

The arrest warrant for the former president is valid until Monday, as protesters remain outside his residence. (ABC News: Fletcher Yeung)

"Secretary Blinken will meet with senior [Republic of Korea] government officials to reaffirm the ironclad US-ROK Alliance and discuss ways our two nations can build on our critical cooperation on challenges around the world based on our shared values," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

No doubt they'll have plenty to talk about.

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