Yoon's security chief resigns, says arrest bids must avoid bloodshed

The security chief of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, under investigation for blocking his arrest, resigned on Jan 10 and said any further efforts to detain the former leader must avoid bloodshed.

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Mr Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec 3 has plunged one of Asia's most vibrant democracies into a period of unprecedented political turbulence.

As a top court deliberates over lawmakers' decision to impeach Mr Yoon, who is holed up at his hillside residence, anti-graft officers have also opened a criminal investigation for possible insurrection.

Those officers were last week stopped from bringing Mr Yoon in for questioning in a six-hour standoff with the Presidential Security Service (PSS), headed by Mr Park Chong-jun.

Investigators have a warrant for Mr Yoon's arrest and have said they are determined to detain him for questioning.

Mr Park, a former senior police official, was questioned by the police on Jan 10 over his role in last week's stand-off and his office announced he had submitted his resignation.