Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has accused special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team of using excessive force when it attempted to arrest the ousted president as part of its investigation targeting his wife, Kim Keon-hee.

Yoon’s legal representatives held a press conference on Thursday explaining their side of what happened earlier in the day during the special counsel team’s second attempt to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon.

The team arrived at the Seoul Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province in the morning and attempted to arrest the former president, but was forced to suspend the process due to Yoon’s strong resistance, just as it did six days prior in the first attempt.

According to Yoon’s attorneys, the special prosecutors arrived around 8 a.m. and coaxed Yoon into the detention center chief’s room, saying he could meet with his lawyer.

But once they were all in the room, the team asked Yoon’s lawyer to leave and when the lawyer refused, the team repeatedly tried to send the lawyer out, saying it would bring Yoon in by force.

They said the team tried to remove Yoon by holding onto his limbs, then trying to lift the chair he was sitting on, failing both times due to Yoon’s resistance and at one point causing the former president to fall to the ground. 

The attorneys said the team’s actions were illegal and that all those involved will be held accountable.