The head of South Korea’s presidential security service has resigned after warning authorities to avoid “bloodshed” in any attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Park Jong-joon, the head of the Presidential Security Service, stepped down on Friday amid an investigation into allegations of obstruction of public duty.

The office of acting President Choi Sang-mok confirmed that it had accepted Park’s resignation after he appeared for police questioning earlier in the day.

Speaking as he arrived for questioning, Park said that many citizens were concerned about the possibility of violence if investigators sought to execute another arrest warrant against Yoon.

“I came here today with the belief that under no circumstances should there be any physical clashes or bloodshed, and am hoping to prevent such incidents from occurring,” Park told reporters at the Joint Investigation Headquarters in Seoul.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) and police are preparing to make a second attempt to detain Yoon after his security detail last week blocked investigators from executing a warrant at his office residence.

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The anticorruption agency abandoned its bid to detain Yoon following an hours-long standoff with presidential security last Friday, citing concern for the safety of its personnel.

Yoon, whose brief declaration of martial law on December 3 plunged South Korea into its deepest political crisis in decades, is being investigated for alleged insurrection and abuse of power.

If arrested, Yoon, who has been suspended from his duties since an impeachment vote at the National Assembly on December 14, would be the first sitting president to be detained in South Korean history.

Park, who ignored two previous summons to appear for questioning, said Yoon had been treated unfairly and that investigations should be carried out in a manner befitting the “dignity of the nation”.

Yoon’s legal team have argued that attempts to detain the suspended president have lacked a legal basis and called on authorities to indict him or seek a formal arrest warrant, which requires a court hearing.

Meanwhile, polls released this week showed rising support for Yoon and his People Power Party (PPP) despite his legal woes.

In a Gallup Korea survey published on Friday, 64 percent of respondents said they supported Yoon’s removal from office, down from 75 percent shortly after the martial law decree.

The PPP’s approval rating rose to 34 percent, up from 24 percent about a month ago.