A South Korean court rejected on Friday a prosecutors’ bid to extend the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol amid an ongoing criminal investigation into his controversial martial law declaration on December 3, the country’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The case has been transferred by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to prosecutors who are leading an investigation and is calling for charges of insurrection and abuse of power against Yoon.
Yoon, impeached and suspended from office on December 14, has been in custody since last week as investigators examine his attempt to impose martial law. The decision, overturned by parliament within hours, had sent shockwaves across the nation.
The CIO stated Yoon’s detention was to be ended around January 28 and had presumed prosecutors would seek an additional 10-day period before charging him in court. However, the Seoul Central District Court rejected the motion, saying there were no significant reasons to continue the inquiry now when he had already secured evidence from the CIO.
Neither the court nor the prosecutors’ office made comments on the decision.
Yoon’s defense team has argued that the CIO doesn’t have the jurisdiction to entertain his case; it argued that the law that defines the agency does not include insurrection as one of its violations subject to investigation. On top of this, the lawyers also stated that any criminal proceeding should wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision on Yoon’s impeachment trial.
In a statement, Yoon’s lawyers welcomed the court’s decision, labelling the CIO investigation as illegal and urging prosecutors to restart their probe.
The controversy surrounding Yoon’s martial law attempt has intensified political tensions in South Korea, with calls for clarity on the president’s fate as both legal and constitutional proceedings unfold.
