SOUTH KOREA’S anti-corruption agency said today it had received a new court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after its previous attempt was blocked by presidential security service last week.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials did not immediately confirm for how long the warrant would remain valid. 

Chief prosecutor Oh Dong Woon refused to answer when asked by MPs when the warrant would expire, saying that such information is sensitive as the agency and police contemplate ways to execute the warrant. 

Warrants typically last for seven to 10 days.

The Seoul Western District Court initially issued a warrant to detain Mr Yoon last week, along with a separate warrant to search his residence, after he defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning over his December 3 martial law decree.

About 150 anti-corruption agency investigators and police officers attempted to detain the president on Friday but retreated from his residence in Seoul after a lengthy stand-off with the presidential security service. 

The investigators did not make another attempt to detain Mr Yoon before the initial warrants expired on Monday.

The anti-corruption agency and police have pledged to make a more forceful effort to detain him, though the task is complicated as long as he remains in his presidential residence under the protection of his official security personnel.