Thousands have braved the frigid January weather in Seoul protests, waving South Korean and American flags and shouting vows to protect their embattled conservative hero, the impeached South Korean president facing imprisonment over potential rebellion charges.

South Korea's anti-corruption agency will resume questioning President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday as part of a criminal probe into whether he committed insurrection, while the Constitutional Court holds a second hearing of the embattled leader's impeachment trial.

Yoon’s detention, after a tense standoff outside the presidential residence, marks the latest chapter in a bewildering series of events since his martial law decree.