Acting President Choi Sang-mok reaffirmed his neutrality on Tuesday, resisting political pressure from the Democratic Party (DP) as it moves to prosecute him over the failure to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok became on Friday South Korea's second acting president in two weeks, as lawmakers voted to impeach the current acting leader, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, fuelling political uncertainty in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

South Korean investigators urged the acting president to enforce an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, after a six-hour standoff where security forces blocked the arrest. The warrant relates to Yoon's recent martial law declaration.

South Korea's police have been asked to arrest suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday. Dozens of investigators working for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) attempted to execute a court warrant for Yoon's detention on Friday after he ignored three summonses for questioning over his botched attempt to impose martial law on December 3.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Acting President Choi Sang-mok, blaming him for the anti-corruption agency’s failure to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. “Acting President Choi Sang-mok should be held accountable for disrupting order and acts of insurrection.