SEOUL - South Korea's special counsel investigating former president Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived martial law imposition sought a warrant to arrest the ousted president, multiple media outlets said Tuesday.

Cho Eun-suk, independent counsel leading the investigation into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, requested the warrant issuance, saying Yoon made clear his unwillingness to appear for questioning.

Yoon rejected the third police call last Thursday to appear for questioning over charges of ordering the presidential security service to block an attempt in January to arrest him and to delete information on security phones offered to three military commanders.

Yoon was apprehended in the presidential office on Jan 15 and was indicted under detention on Jan 26 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection, but he was released on March 8 as prosecutors decided not to appeal against the court's release approval.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon on April 4 over his botched martial law bid last December, officially removing him from office.