The president's ultraconservative supporters believe that the country has been overrun by North Korea sympathizers conspiring to destroy South Korea’s freedoms.

The security chief, who resigned on Friday, said that bloodshed must be avoided when it came to the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

It was unclear when and how police could make the arrest and whether the presidential security service, which has blocked access by investigators with a search warrant to Yoon's office and official residence,