ISTANBUL

A special counsel team failed Friday to execute a detention warrant for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol after he refused to comply, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Assistant Special Counsel Moon Hong-ju, along with a prosecutor and an investigator, visited Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, where Yoon has been held since last month. The team said they went as far as outside Yoon’s cell and instructed prison officers to bring him out, but he refused.

“We could not complete the execution of the detention warrant for former President Yoon due to his adamant refusal,” the team said.

Special counsel assistant Oh Jeong-hee said that Yoon "adamantly" refused the warrant execution by "lying on the floor without wearing his prison uniform."

A lawyer of Yoon's criticized the team's remarks, saying they "publicly mocked" Yoon's character, "trampling over" his social reputation.

The special counsel team, on the other hand, stated that they would "complete the execution of the detention warrant next time, including by using physical force."

Earlier, special prosecutors said they will “forcibly” bring in the ousted president for questioning over alleged election meddling.

The special prosecutors are probing allegations that Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, meddled in nominating candidates for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

Yoon has defied two summonses to attend questioning this week, and his lawyers said it was due to “his deteriorating health.”

He has been in custody since January after being impeached in December, days after he imposed martial law on the night of Dec. 3, which was overturned within hours.

Yoon was formally ousted from office in April, paving the way for a snap presidential election in June, which was overwhelmingly won by Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).