Authors: Hyunjoo Jin and Jack Kim

Seoul (Reuters) – South Korea’s presidential security chief Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday that the deposed leader, who faces arrest under investigation over his efforts to impose martial law on Dec. 3, had been treated unfairly for a sitting leader, and warned that bloodshed should be avoided.

Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), is himself under investigation for obstruction of official duties in connection with a six-hour standoff last week between PSS agents and investigators trying to execute Yoon’s arrest warrant.

After arriving at police headquarters for questioning, Park, a former senior police official, said the current attempt to arrest the sitting president was wrong and Yoon deserved treatment that “stripped” the country’s status.

“I believe that there should be no physical clashes or bloodshed under any circumstances,” Park told reporters, adding that acting President Choi Sang-mok did not respond to his request to ensure the safety of the officials involved.

Hundreds of PSS agents blocked the presidential headquarters and thwarted investigators’ attempt to arrest Yoon last Friday. Investigators were withdrawn due to the risk of a clash.

Officials with the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO), which is leading the investigation, said PSS operatives were carrying firearms during the encounter, although they did not draw any weapons.

This week, investigators obtained a modern arrest warrant after Yoon resisted repeated notices to appear for questioning.

On Thursday, Yoon’s lawyers said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.

Yoon is facing a separate trial at the Constitutional Court, where parliament impeached him on December 14 to decide whether to permanently remove him from office or reinstate him. His lawyers said Yoon would accept the verdict.

While Yoon, hidden away in his hilltop mansion, awaits his fate, polls released this week showed a revival of support for his ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) and calls for his lasting removal.

A Gallup Korea poll released Friday showed that 64% of respondents supported Yoon’s removal from office, compared with 75% who supported it shortly after martial law was imposed.

Support for PPP rose to 34%, a similar level to the period before Dec. 3, in a poll of 1,004 people conducted this week, from 24% about a month ago.

Analysts say the prolonged uncertainty over Yoon’s fate has not only emboldened his supporters but soothed some critics concerned about the possibility of the liberal opposition leader, a Democratic Party leader who is himself on trial on criminal charges, becoming president.