President’s Legal Woes Deepen as Court Orders Custody in Ongoing Case
Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): A South Korean court on Sunday issued a warrant to keep Yoon Sook-yeol in custody for 20 days. Yool is accused of treason for imposing martial law in the country on December 3, 2024.
The Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant request for high-ranking officials made by the joint investigation unit composed of the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), the National Investigation Office (NOI) and the Defense Ministry's Investigation Headquarters on Friday. An embattled Yoon decided to attend the five-hour hearing to explain the legitimacy of his martial law declaration and restore his reputation, according to Yoon's lawyer.
According to Xinhua news agency, Yoon claimed that imposing martial law was an act of presidential rule that could not be subject to a court hearing, but investigative agencies said Yoon declared martial law without reason by promulgating a martial law decree that illegally banned the political activity of lawmakers who have the power to lift martial law. With the warrant issued, the possibility increased that Yoon could be prosecuted on charges of rebellion.
Prior to the indictment, Yoon will be questioned by the CIO for an initial 10 days, including the arrest period. The subsequent 10 days will be spent by the prosecution as both sides have agreed to jointly investigate Yoon's rebellion charge. Yoon is being detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, about 20 km south of Seoul and just 5 km from the CIO building.
He was arrested at the presidential office on Wednesday, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested in the country's modern history. Yoon will face a separate impeachment trial. The bill was passed in the National Assembly on December 14, 2024 and sent to the Constitutional Court for deliberation for 180 days. The Constitutional Court on Thursday held the second hearing of Yoon's impeachment trial over his declaration of emergency martial law on the night of Dec. 3, which the National Assembly repealed a few hours later. The next hearings will be held on Jan. 21 and 23, and Feb. 4, 6, 11 and 13.
