SEOUL: South Korean investigators failed to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a nearly six-hour standoff with the presidential security service, in the latest confrontation of a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.

The country's anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after they were blocked from entering Yoon's official residence due to concerns about the safety of its members. It says it expresses “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law.”

The office said it will discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention is valid for one week.