Critics of the presidential security service call it a relic from the days of South Korea's strongman leaders.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives late Sunday in crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.

According to North Korean state media, South Korea’s state has been “paralyzed,” with the country experiencing “spiraling socio-political confusion.” These comments from Pyongyang followed a prolonged political crisis in South Korea triggered by the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law and the subsequent impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The police are investigating whether President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to lead an insurrection when he declared martial law and plunged the country into crisis.

South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree this month amounted to rebellion.

Yoon Suk Yeol has gone to ground but remained unrepentant as the crisis has rolled on, issuing a defiant message to his base days before an arrest warrant expires on Jan 6.

By Eduardo Baptista, Hyunsu Yim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -Authorities sought on Friday to execute an unprecedented arrest warrant for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, evading a crowd of protesters that faced off with police outside his residence and vowed to block any attempt.

It was unclear when and how police could make the arrest and whether the presidential security service, which has blocked access by investigators with a search warrant to Yoon's office and official residence,

Rival South Korean protesters were set to brave a snowstorm Sunday over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol who was still resisting arrest less than 48 hours before the warrant expires.

Thousands of rival South Korean protesters rallied in the capital yesterday, a day after a failed attempt to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing a short-lived martial law decree that led to his impeachment.

Thousands of rival South Korean protesters rallied in the capital yesterday, a day after a failed attempt to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for imposing a short-lived martial law decree that led to his impeachment.