South Korean investigators left the president’s official residence after a nearly six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt detain him in the latest confrontation of a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.

The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering President Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence for hours due to concerns about their safety.