South Korea’s acting leader accepts resignation of presidential security chief

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader on Friday accepted the resignation of the chief of the presidential security service, Park Jong-joon, as he faced police questioning over how his forces blocked law enforcement efforts to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol last week.

The acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, also expressed regret over the clashes between law enforcement officials and the presidential security service and called for lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement to launch an independent investigation.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police are planning a second attempt to bring Yoon into custody as they jointly investigate whether his brief martial law declaration on Dec. 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion. The presidential security service blocked an earlier attempt to detain Yoon at his official residence, which he has not left for weeks.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Park’s resignation and Choi’s call for an independent investigation to take over the probe on Yoon would affect the push to bring Yoon into custody.

“The government has been deliberating to find a wise solution, but unfortunately, within our current legal framework, it’s difficult to find a clear resolution to end the conflict between the two agencies,” Choi said about the tensions between the anti-corruption office and presidential security service over Yoon’s potential detention.

“We urge the ruling and opposition parties to work together to agree on a bill to launch a special prosecutor investigation that is free from constitutional issues. This will naturally resolve the ongoing intense standoff.”

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party accused Choi of legitimizing Yoon’s refusal to comply with a court-issued warrant under the guise of neutrality.

“It amounts to a public declaration of support for the leader of a rebellion,” said Noh Jong-myun, a party lawmaker and spokesperson.

The Democrats and other opposition parties on Thursday introduced a bill calling for an independent investigation into allegations of rebellion against Yoon.

An earlier bill by the opposition proposing an independent investigation was scrapped after members of Yoon’s conservative party opposed a clause allowing only opposition parties to recommend special prosecutor candidates.

The conservatives also aren't endorsing the new bill, which proposes that the Supreme Court’s chief justice recommend two candidates to Yoon, who would then select one as the special prosecutor. If Yoon refuses to appoint anyone, the older of the two candidates would automatically assume the role, according to the bill.

Park ignored two summonses before appearing for questioning on Friday over allegations of obstructing justice, a week after his forces repelled dozens of anti-corruption and police investigators from Yoon’s official residence. Park said his duty is to protect the president and warned of “bloodshed,” as critics said that his agency is becoming Yoon’s private army.

The embattled president remains holed up at his official residence in Seoul, where the presidential security service has fortified the grounds with barbed wire and rows of vehicles blocking the roads.

Yoon made a short-lived declaration of martial law and deployed troops to surround the National Assembly on Dec. 3, which lasted only hours before lawmakers managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 and accused him of rebellion. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberating on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reject the charges and reinstate him.

A Seoul court on Tuesday issued a new warrant to the anti-corruption agency to detain Yoon after the previous one-week warrant expired. The agency and police have not publicly disclosed how long the new warrant will remain valid.

Speaking to reporters upon arriving for police questioning, Park again criticized the efforts to detain Yoon, saying that the investigation should proceed in a manner “appropriate for the status of an incumbent president” and the “dignity of the nation.”

“Many citizens are surely deeply concerned about the possible conflict and confrontation between government agencies,” Park said. “I came here today with the belief that under no circumstances should there be any physical clashes or bloodshed, and am hoping to prevent such incidents from occurring.”

Park said he made several calls to Choi, urging him to mediate an alternative approach with law enforcement and also made similar requests to Yoon’s lawyers, but did not receive a satisfactory response. The anti-corruption agency had also criticized Choi for refusing to instruct the presidential security service to cooperate with its execution of the detainment warrant.

While the presidential security act mandates protection for Yoon, it does not authorize the service to block court-ordered detainments and some legal experts say the presidential security service’s action last week may have been illegal.

Asked in parliament about the presidential security service’s effort to block the detention, National Court Administration head Cheon Dae-yeop said Friday that “resistance without a legitimate reason can constitute a crime, such as obstruction of official duties.”

Although the president himself has wide-ranging immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

Yoon’s lawyers have questioned the legitimacy of the new detention warrant against Yoon issued by the Seoul Western District Court, arguing that the anti-corruption agency lacks legal authority to investigate rebellion charges or order police to detain suspects.

They also argue that detention and search warrants against Yoon cannot be enforced at his residence, citing a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge — which would be Yoon.

Yoon’s lawyers have urged the agency to either indict the president or seek a formal arrest warrant, a process that requires a court hearing. However, they have said that Yoon would only comply with an arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, which handles most key requests in high-profile cases.

They accuse the agency of deliberately choosing another court with an allegedly favorable judge, even though the official residence is located in the jurisdiction of the Western District Court.

Demonstrators supporting, bottom left, and opposing impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend with a banner showing portraits of him, center, US President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, during a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A supporter of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans during a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Security personnel walk on a road lined up with buses blocking the entrance gate of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Park Jong-joon, the chief of the presidential security service, arrives at the Joint Investigation Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (Lim Hwa-young/Yonhap via AP)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — State-run Pakistan International Airlines resumed direct flights to Europe on Friday following a decision by the European Union’s aviation safety agency to lift a four-year ban over safety standards, officials said.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-a-week flights to Paris and vowed that PIA will expand its operations to other European countries soon.

The flight from Islamabad was fully booked with more than 300 passengers, the airline said.

Asif said in a speech that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had imposed the ban on PIA's operations to Europe because of an “irresponsible statement” by a former aviation minister.

The curb on PIA was imposed in 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi in southern Pakistan. Then-Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an investigation into the crash found that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams. A government probe later concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error.

The ban caused a loss of nearly $150 million a year in revenue for PIA, officials say.

Meanwhile, the first international flight was scheduled to depart from Gwadar, a new airport in southwestern Pakistan, later Friday. The Chinese-funded airport was inaugurated by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in October.

The airport, Pakistan's largest, is located in restive southwestern Balochistan province and is part of a massive investment by Beijing that links a deep seaport and airport on the Arabian Sea by road with China.

The state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane prepares to take-off for Paris after the airline resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ground staff work beside the state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane preparing to take-off for Paris after the airline resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)