Yoon's head of security in spotlight after blocking arrest

SEOUL - 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.

Park Chong-jun, who reports directly to Yoon, was instrumental in rebuffing the investigators' attempt on Friday (Jan 3) to serve an arrest warrant on Yoon, resulting in a six-hour standoff in Yoon's official residence.

Presidential guards and military troops prevented authorities from arresting Yoon for alleged insurrection on the warrant, which is valid through Monday. The anti-graft body that is leading the investigation with police said on Friday it was working out its next steps.

Yoon's Dec 3 declaration of martial law stunned South Korea and led to his impeachment and suspension from duties on Dec 14. The president's political fate is in the hands of the Constitutional Court.

His legal fate is being fought over by an array of law enforcement agencies against Yoon's forces - with Park in a pivotal position.

Appointed by Yoon in September, Park had already played a role in preventing investigators from executing search warrants for the president's offices and residences, citing national security.

"The Presidential Security Service exists solely for the absolute safety of the security target," Park says in a message on the service's website, adding that its mission to protect the president "at every moment" must leave no loopholes.

He employed that rationale to rebuff Friday's efforts to arrest Yoon, on the grounds that investigators were exceeding the bounds of security laws and injuring some security service staff.

'Out of control'

Critics worry that it is Park's service that is