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Following President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to impose martial law last week, South Korean police have done a raid on the presidential office in Seoul. While police have accessed the civil service offices, they are currently blocked from entering the main presidential building by security guards.
The raids are the latest development in what has been a tumultuous week in South Korean politics.
President Yoon, who has stayed in office despite an impeachment vote and multiple calls for him to step down, is facing multiple investigations from various branches of government, on charges of insurrection and treason.
Meanwhile, the country's ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun who took responsibility for the martial law declaration, attempted suicide while in detention on Tuesday night, an official said.
Kim is currently being kept in a guarding room and "has no current health issues", the ministry told parliament. He was arrested on Sunday.
Many officials close to Yoon have also resigned in the wake of the short-lived martial law declaration. The country is now in a state of political flux.
Ruling party lawmakers banded to boycott a vote to impeach Yoon as president after he agreed to shorten his term and not get involved in foreign and domestic affairs. However, the opposition Democratic Party, which commands a majority in the parliament have criticised the deal, with floor leader Park Chan-dae calling it "an illegal, unconstitutional second insurrection and a second coup".
Eighteen investigators were sent to the presidential office on Wednesday to seize records related to a cabinet meeting held on the night of the martial law declaration, according to local media. President Yoon, who was among the suspects listed on the search warrant, was not in his office when the raids commenced. Officers are now negotiating with his security team over how the search will be carried out.
Before he became president, Yoon had risen to prominence as a prosecutor who took down high-ranking officials. In 2016, he led a probe into former president Park Geun-hye, which ultimately resulted in her impeachment.
Past presidents' security teams have denied investigators access to carry out such searches.
