South Korea’s disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was detained for a second time on Thursday over his declaration of martial law and is being held in a solitary cell as investigators expand their probe into insurrection.
Yoon triggered a political crisis in South Korea when he attempted to subvert civilian rule on December 3 last year by deploying armed soldiers to parliament to block lawmakers from voting down his martial law declaration.
He became the first sitting South Korean president to be taken into custody after a dawn raid in January, following weeks of resisting arrest and using his presidential security detail to evade investigators. However, he was released on procedural grounds in March while his insurrection trial continued.
Following the court’s confirmation of Yoon’s impeachment in April, he ignored multiple summons from investigators, prompting them to request his detention again to secure his cooperation.
The latest arrest warrant was issued amid concerns that Yoon would “destroy evidence” in the case, Nam Se-jin, a senior judge at Seoul’s Central District Court, stated.
Yoon is confined in a solitary cell that contains only a fan and lacks air-conditioning despite a heatwave gripping South Korea. According to official records, he was served a regulation breakfast, including steamed potatoes and milk.
Investigators said on Thursday that Yoon’s status as a former president will be “duly considered,” but otherwise he will be “treated like any other suspect.”
“Investigations during the detention period will focus on the warrant’s stated charges,” prosecutor Park Ji-young told reporters.
Yoon’s criminal trial also proceeded with a hearing on Thursday, which he did not attend for the first time.
– Solitary –
The 64-year-old former president attended a seven-hour hearing on Wednesday regarding the new warrant, during which he denied all charges before being taken to a holding center near Seoul to await the court’s ruling on whether to detain him again.
During the hearing, Yoon reportedly said he is now “fighting alone,” according to local media.
“The special counsel is now going after even my defence lawyers,” Yoon stated during his hearing.
“One by one my lawyers are stepping away, and I may soon have to fight this alone.”
After the warrant was issued early Thursday, Yoon was placed in solitary confinement at the facility, where he can be held for up to 20 days while prosecutors prepare formal indictments, possibly including additional charges.
“Once Yoon is indicted, he could remain detained for up to six months following indictment,” Yun Bok-nam, president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, told AFP.
“Theoretically, immediate release is possible, but in this case, the special counsel has argued that the risk of evidence destruction remains high, and that the charges are already substantially supported.”
– Long time in detention? –
At the hearing, Yoon’s legal team described the detention request as unreasonable, emphasizing that Yoon has been ousted and “no longer holds any authority.”
Earlier this month, the special counsel questioned Yoon regarding his resistance during a failed arrest attempt in January, and accusations that he authorized drone flights to Pyongyang to help justify the declaration of martial law.
Yoon also faces charges of falsifying official documents connected to the martial law attempt.
He has defended his martial law decision as necessary to “root out” pro–North Korean and “anti-state” forces.
But the Constitutional Court, which unanimously removed Yoon from office on April 4, condemned his actions as a “betrayal of people’s trust” and a “denial of the principles of democracy.”
South Korea’s current president, Lee Jae Myung, who won the June snap election, has approved legislation launching wide-ranging special investigations into Yoon’s martial law push and various criminal allegations tied to his administration and wife.
AFP
