Acting head of South Korea's Presidential Security Service detained

South Korean police detained the acting head of the Presidential Security Service on Friday. He is accused of attempting to obstruct the arrest of the country's suspended leader, Yoon Suk-yeol. This was reported by the Yonhap News Agency.

Kim Sung-hoon, who assumed the position of acting head of the Presidential Security Service just a week ago following the resignation of his predecessor, Park Chong-jun, was detained immediately upon arriving at the headquarters of the National Investigation Service in western Seoul. The reason was his alleged interference with the actions of investigators from the state anti-corruption agency. They had attempted to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol on 3 January as part of an investigation into the brief imposition of martial law initiated by the former leader.

Kim's detention came two days after Yoon's own arrest, marking a new escalation in the country's political crisis. In his defence, Kim told journalists outside the police building that he had acted within the law as a representative of the Security Service.

 However, his evasion of summons for questioning — having ignored three invitations — forced the police to issue a detention warrant.

Previously, on Wednesday, the police had already attempted to arrest Kim but refrained from doing so at the request of Yoon's lawyers. Now, following the final arrest, attention to Kim Sung-hoon's case has further intensified public and media interest in the political processes unfolding in the country.