By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) – Thousands braved heavy snow in Seoul on Sunday to rally for and against the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as South Korea’s political crisis took another turn. confrontation with high stakes.

With an arrest warrant against Yoon for the alleged insurrection set to expire at midnight (1500 GMT) on Monday, several groups held demonstrations near his official residence, some urging him to be arrested immediately and others protested against it.

Yoon became the country’s first sitting president to face arrest for his failed attempt to declare martial law on Dec. 3, triggering political turmoil that engulfed Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally.

The conservative president has been impeached by parliament and suspended from official duties while a court decides whether to reinstate or remove him. On Friday, criminal investigators were prevented from arresting him by Yoon’s presidential security service and military troops in a six-hour standoff.

Some of Sunday’s protesters gathered overnight in downtown Seoul, where temperatures fell below minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 5 cm (2 inches) of snow piled up in parts of the capital, which is under a heavy snow warning.

“We need to rebuild the foundation of our society by punishing the president who rejects the constitution,” said Yang Kyung-soo, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major labor group. who participated in the protests.

“We need to take the criminal Yoon Suk Yeol and arrest and detain him as soon as possible.”

Nearby, Yoon’s supporters held placards reading “We will fight for President Yoon Suk Yeol” and “Stop the Steal”, a phrase popularized by supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump. after he lost in the 2016 election.

Similar rallies drew tens of thousands on Saturday, prompting police to try to disperse KCTU protesters who occupied the streets and disrupted traffic. Two were detained, accused of assaulting police officers, Yonhap news agency reported.

On Saturday, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading Yoon’s criminal investigation, again asked acting President Choi Sang-mok, the finance minister, to order the security service to execute the arrest warrant.

A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment.