South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's security chief said on Friday the impeached leader, who faces arrest over a criminal probe into his Dec. 3 martial law bid, has been unfairly treated for a sitting leader and warned bloodshed must be avoided.

Yoon Suk Yeol’s bodyguards thwarted investigators in another tense showdown resulting from his short-lived martial law decree.

South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree this month amounted to rebellion.