A South Korean court has issued a new arrest warrant for the president

Seoul - South Korea's Senior Public Officials Crime Investigation Agency said Tuesday that a court has renewed an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Yoon's arrest warrant expires on June 6. The Public Relations Office said on Tuesday it was not in a position to say how long the new arrest warrant would be valid.

Yoon's lawyer filed an injunction request with the Seoul court to quash the arrest warrant, but the court rejected the request on Sunday, a court official said.

Mr. Yin's lawyer said last week that the office had no authority to investigate the rebellion and that it was trying to "enforce" arrest and search warrants by mobilizing the police.

Yoon's impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on January 14, and if he does not attend, the impeachment trial will be held in his absence.

South Korean media said suspended Yoon was likely to appear in court that day, but Yoon's lawyer told AFP it was "still up in the air" whether he would appear on Sunday.

The court has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon from the presidency or restore him to his powers.

In December 2024, after Yin Xiyue suddenly declared martial law and was impeached by the National Assembly, the Public Relations Office, the National Police Agency and the Investigation headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense jointly formed a joint martial Law Investigation team (Joint Investigation Team) to deal with the case. On Friday, a large number of personnel, including the Public relations Office and nearly 100 police officers, tried to enter the presidential palace to arrest Yin Xiyue, but were blocked and were forced to withdraw after a five-and-a-half hour standoff with presidential security officers.

Despite the cold weather, many of Yin's supporters camped outside his presidential residence to show their support.

The political crisis in South Korea is of deep concern to the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, who met with acting President Choi Sang-moo on Monday, said he was deeply concerned about the martial law situation triggered by Yoon, but had "full confidence" in Choi's leadership and that South Korea would peacefully overcome the current challenges in accordance with the constitution and laws.

Blinken's visit to South Korea is intended to send a signal to the international community that despite the crisis, the cooperation between the United States and South Korea is still close enough to continue to deal with regional and global challenges.