The chief of security for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday he could not cooperate with efforts to arrest the impeached leader, in remarks that could push the political crisis towards another high-stakes confrontation.

Thousands of South Korean citizens were gathering on Sunday near impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence a day before an arrest warrant for him expires.

The man central to blocking investigators from arresting South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has come under the spotlight himself in the political crisis sparked by Yoon's brief declaration of martial law last month.

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.View on euronews

After a dramatic six-hour long standoff with security, South Korean police have called off an attempt to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol. The 150 officers involved found themselves helplessly outnumbered - first by the large number of pro-Yoon supporters who had gathered outside his residence before sunrise,

The impeached president faces an attempt by authorities to arrest him over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law.

Thousands of Yoon's supporters have rallied near his residence, chanting slogans and blocking roads to resist attempts to detain him.