(18 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Seoul, South Korea – 18 January 2025
1. Court exterior
2. Convoy believed to be carrying impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arriving at court
3. People protesting outside court
STORYLINE:
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at a Seoul court for a hearing on Saturday to oppose a formal arrest over last month’s imposition of martial law.
Yoon, who has been in detention since he was apprehended Wednesday in a massive law enforcement operation at his residence, faces potential rebellion charges linked to his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratisation in the late 1980s.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and the military, requested the Seoul Western District Court to grant a warrant for Yoon’s formal arrest.
Yoon is expected to argue that there’s no need for him to be in custody during an investigation at a hearing set this afternoon. The judge is anticipated to make a decision by late Saturday or early Sunday.
Yoon was transported from a detention centre in Uiwang, near Seoul, in a blue Justice Ministry van escorted by police and the presidential security service.
The motorcade entered the court’s basement parking space as hundreds of Yoon’s supporters rallied in nearby streets amid a heavy police presence, waving banners and shouting slogans calling for his release.
Yoon did not speak to reporters before heading to the hearing.
After meeting Yoon at the detention centre, Yoon Kab-keun, one of the president’s lawyers, said in a text message that Yoon had accepted his legal team’s advice to appear personally before the judge.
The president plans to argue that his decree was a legitimate exercise of his powers and that accusations of rebellion would not hold up before a criminal court or the Constitutional Court, which is reviewing whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him, his lawyer said.
If Yoon is arrested, investigators can extend his detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to public prosecutors for indictment. If the court rejects the investigators’ request, Yoon will be released and return to his residence.
Nine people, including Yoon’s defence minister, police chief, and several top military commanders, have already been arrested and indicted for their roles in the enforcement of martial law.
The crisis began when Yoon, in an attempt to break through legislative gridlock, imposed military rule and sent troops to the National Assembly and election offices.
The standoff lasted only hours after lawmakers who managed to get through a blockade voted to lift the measure. The opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14.
If Yoon is formally arrested, it could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody for him, lasting months or more.
If prosecutors indict Yoon on rebellion and abuse of power charges, which are the allegations now being examined by investigators, they could keep him in custody for up to six months before trial.
Under South Korean law, orchestrating a rebellion is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Yoon’s lawyers have argued that there is no need to detain him during the investigation, saying he doesn’t pose a threat to flee or destroy evidence.
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