South Korean presidential office denies Yoon's escape

According to Yonhap, the South Korean Presidential Office on January 8 denied speculation that President Yoon Suk-yeol had fled his residence, amid investigators' attempts to arrest him to investigate his failed martial law declaration.

“The president is currently staying at the residence,” a presidential office official familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency by phone, without providing further details.

South Korean police said they were tracking Yoon's location amid rumours he may have fled his residence in central Seoul, while investigators led by the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) were considering ways to arrest the impeached president.

“We cannot reveal the specific location of President Yoon,” a police official told Yonhap. “We are still monitoring his location.”

Rumors of Mr. Yoon leaving his residence began to emerge when Ahn Gyu-back, a representative of the opposition Democratic Party, stated in an interview with KBS Radio on January 8 that he had information that Mr. Yoon had left the residence and was hiding in "a third location."

Earlier, during the National Assembly session on January 7, Oh Dong-woon - Director of CIO, told lawmakers that he had not heard any specific information about whether Mr. Yoon was at the residence or not.