Baku, January 7, AZERTAC

South Korea's political turmoil continued to escalate on Monday, as South Korea's investigating authorities requested an extension of a warrant to arrest the country's impeached president, Yoon Suk-yeol, according to Global Times.

Meanwhile, the presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Seoul further complicates the situation. Representing the outgoing Biden administration, Blinken's visit aims to gain a deeper understanding of South Korea's complex and delicate political landscape, and show support for the pro-US factions within the South Korean government, experts said.

The Corruption Investigation for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), South Korean anti-corruption body, has refiled the warrant at the Seoul Western District Court to extend the deadline for the warrant to detain Yoon, Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.

On Friday the CIO had failed again to serve an arrest warrant on Yoon over his declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024 after presidential security service guards formed a human chain to prevent access to him.

The arrest warrant, the first for a sitting president, was due to expire at midnight on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, Yonhap reported that South Korean state anti-corruption agency has asked the police to take over the execution of a warrant to detain Yoon.

"The CIO sent us an official letter requesting our cooperation without prior consultations," a police official told Yonhap News Agency. "We are internally carrying out a legal review."

Yonhap later on Monday said the state anti-corruption agency's letter asking police to execute a warrant to detain Yoon contains legal issues, police said Monday, effectively rejecting the request.

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea on Saturday advised Chinese nationals residing in South Korea and Chinese tourists visiting the country to enhance their legal awareness and self-protection, according to a statement released on the embassy's WeChat account on Saturday.

The embassy asked them to stay away from local political gatherings and crowded areas, refrain from making public political statements, keep informed about traffic control caused by gatherings, and prioritize personal safety and travel security.

Park Jong-joon, chief of South Korea's presidential security service, on Sunday vowed to keep blocking the attempt to arrest Yoon, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Around 30 South Korean ruling party lawmakers gathered near the presidential residence to rally against investigators' efforts to detain Yoon on Monday, according to local media.