Clashes as S. Korean investigators attempt to arrest President Yoon

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00:00First this hour, it is their second attempt to take him into custody.

00:05Investigators are at the official residence of the South Korean president as they again

00:09try to execute a warrant for his arrest over his botched attempt to impose martial law.

00:16Yoon Suk-yool hasn't left his residence in Seoul for weeks.

00:20Eleven days ago, the Presidential Security Service blocked dozens of investigators and

00:24police from detaining him after a nearly six-hour standoff.

00:29As you can see in these live images coming in to us from Seoul, thousands of his supporters

00:35have gathered outside the residence as have up to a thousand police officers while lawmakers

00:42have formed a human chain to try to block access to the building.

00:47For the very latest, let's cross live now to our regional correspondent, Yenna Lee is

00:51standing by for us.

00:53Yenna, we're seeing reports now that police appear to be pushing into the residence or

00:57trying to do so at least.

00:59What exactly is happening there?

01:01It's an extremely tense situation outside the president's office.

01:07President's residence in central Seoul, conservative lawmakers from Yoon's People's Power Party,

01:13the president's lawyers and Yoon's supporters have been trying to block the police from

01:18advancing at the main entrance.

01:21Reporters on the ground describe chaotic scenes that have at times become physical.

01:26Local media says that one person has reportedly been injured.

01:31Officers are attempting to breach the barricades from multiple entry points.

01:36There are some 160 police vans involved, some spotted with ladders.

01:42It's also worthy to note that on this Wednesday, around 1,000 officers have been deployed for

01:48the second arrest attempt, and they've been told to prepare for a scenario that could

01:53last up to three days.

01:55Yoon's lawyers say that the attempts to arrest him are illegal and invalid, that these attempts

02:03amount to insurrection.

02:04Whilst the anti-corruption body trying to reach the president says that they will arrest

02:10those who block their path for obstruction of justice.

02:14Now, this comes after a first failed attempt.

02:17You might remember on January 3rd, around 150 police and investigators tried to bring

02:23the president in for questioning, but they were met with around 200 of Yoon's presidential

02:28guards who created a human wall and refused to let investigators through.

02:33And we can see, Yana, in the live images coming into us there, as you say, over 100 police

02:38vans, up to 1,000 police officers, seemingly.

02:42As you say, it's the second attempt to try to arrest the South Korean president.

02:47Remind us how exactly we got to this point.

02:50Well, President Yoon Se-kyo declared martial law on December 3rd, and it was a controversial

02:55power grab that he defended as necessary as the opposition-controlled National Assembly

03:00was quote-unquote blocking state affairs.

03:04That martial law attempt only lasted around six hours, and since then he's been pretty

03:08much holed up in his compound.

03:11Parliament impeached him 11 days later, and now the country's top court is deciding his

03:16fate.

03:17Meanwhile, separately, special prosecutors opened this probe into insurrection against

03:22him, and for the first time in Korean history, charged a sitting president with a crime.

03:28Yoon has refused to cooperate, not showing up to three summonses, which led to arrest

03:33warrants being issued against him.

03:36But these arrest warrants haven't been without controversy.

03:38Yoon's ruling conservatives insist that they're deeply regrettable and possibly illegal, whilst

03:44opposition Democrats have been accusing investigators of being incompetent and underprepared, putting

03:50more pressure on the anti-corruption body to make progress for the second arrest attempt.

03:55Tense scenes, as you say there, Yana.

03:58That is our regional correspondent, Yana Lee.

04:00Yana will be, of course, staying across that story.

04:03We'll bring you further news soon as we get it.

04:06Moving on, firefighters in Laos.

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