S Korean police attempt raid on president office again; Yoon vows to fight
President Yoon Suk-yeol defended his attempt to impose martial law in a televised speech, promising to "fight to the end" despite the opposition legislature's efforts to impeach him.
South Korea's capital has been rocked by daily protests since last week, with thousands gathering to demand Yoon's resignation. / Photo: AFP
South Korean police were again trying to raid the presidential office in Seoul following an attempt on Wednesday, the Yonhap news agency has said.
Police on Wednesday were blocked from entering the presidential office by security guards, later saying they had been given "very limited" documents by Yoon's staff.
South Korean President Yoon Sukyeol has vowed to fight "until the very last minute", in a defiant address defending his shock decision to declare martial law and deploy troops to the country's parliament last week.
The South Korean leader is barred from foreign travel as part of a probe into his inner circle over the dramatic events of December 3-4 that stunned Seoul's allies and threw it into some of its deepest political turmoil in years.
Now staring down an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, Yoon on Thursday vowed to "fight with the people until the very last minute".
"I apologise again to the people who must have been surprised and anxious due to the martial law," he said in a televised address.
"Please trust me."
Saturday's impeachment vote will take place at around 0800 GMT.
Escalating investigations
South Korea's capital has been rocked by daily protests since last week, with thousands gathering to demand Yoon's resignation.
And Yoon's inner circle has come under intense scrutiny for their alleged role in last week's martial law declaration.
On Thursday, police said they had raided the headquarters of the military's capital defence command, which was deployed during the martial law.
Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is accused of urging Yoon to impose martial law, attempted to kill himself in prison on Tuesday, authorities said.
Academic fraud scandal
On Thursday, top court upheld a two-year jail term for an opposition lawmaker Cho Kuk on charges including bribery and academic fraud in a scandal.
The verdict stripped Cho Kuk, a former justice minister and President Yoon Suk-yeol's adversary who now runs the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, of his seat in parliament and his right to run for office for the next five years.
It could also undermine the opposition camp's all-out efforts to impeach
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