bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Park Chan-kyong

Agence France-Presse

A South Korean court has cancelled the arrest warrant of suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol, but he remains behind bars with the prosecution likely to appeal.
Yoon’s lawyers filed a request to cancel his arrest warrant last month, arguing his detention was unlawful because the prosecution waited too long to indict him.
“It is reasonable to conclude that the indictment was filed after the defendant’s detention period had expired,” said a document from the Seoul Central District Court on Friday.
“To ensure procedural clarity and eliminate any doubts regarding the legality of the investigative process, it would be appropriate to issue a decision to cancel the detention,” the court added.
The detention period for Yoon, as stated by the court, was until 9.07am on January 26 but the prosecution filed the indictment more than nine hours after the deadline.
The court also said the agency that detained Yoon before his formal arrest did not have legal rights to investigate the insurrection charges.
The cancellation, however, may not mean his immediate release, according to lawyers for the president, who has been impeached and detained over his December 3 declaration of martial law.
“Even if the court decides to cancel the detention, the defendant is not immediately released,” Yoon’s lawyer, Seok Dong-hyeon, said on Friday.
“The defendant will be released only if the prosecutor waives the right to appeal or does not file an appeal within the prescribed period.”
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Choi Jin, head of the Institute of Presidential Leadership, acknowledged that while Yoon’s arrest might have been procedurally flawed, it did not mean he was in the clear.
Aside from charges of treason and insurrection, the president was exempt from criminal indictment, Choi said.
“However, once he is impeached, he would no longer be exempt from indictments on various charges, including insurrection and other suspected abuses of power,” he told This Week in Asia.
Professor Lee Jun-han at Incheon National University warned that the judgment might send the wrong message to Yoon’s supporters, potentially leading them to believe that the leader had been found not guilty.
“The court ruling would only add fuel to the confusion and chaos until the Constitutional Court reaches a decision on his impeachment, possibly by the end of next week,” he said.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, plunged democratic South Korea into turmoil in December by briefly suspending civilian rule and sending soldiers into parliament.
He has been charged with insurrection for his martial law declaration, which lawmakers voted down within hours before impeaching him.
The 64-year-old resisted arrest for two weeks in a tense stand-off between his security team and investigators at his official residence in Seoul, but was finally taken into custody on January 15.
Hearings for Yoon’s impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court wrapped up last week, with the court’s eight judges set to convene behind closed doors to decide whether his removal from office will be upheld.
A verdict is expected later this month and South Korea must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days if Yoon is removed.

Lawmakers at Yoon’s ruling People Power Party hailed the court’s decision on Friday.
“Although overdue, this is a very welcome decision,” MP Kwon Young-se said.
“The arrest itself raised numerous concerns when considering the investigative process that led to it. This is a crucial moment that reaffirms the rule of law and justice in South Korea.”
Overjoyed supporters quickly gathered in front of Yoon’s house, waving South Korean and American flags.
Much of the impeachment trial has centred on whether Yoon violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
The opposition has accused him of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.
Yoon’s lawyers have said he declared martial law to alert the country to the dangers of “legislative dictatorship” by the opposition.


South Korean firms axe ads featuring actor Kim Soo-hyun over underage dating scandal

Hong Kong stocks hit 3-year high on hopes Trump-Xi talks could ease trade tensions

What to do with North Korean POWs in Ukraine? Kyiv, Seoul discuss

US ‘nuclear sensitive’ tag for South Korea stirs political blame game

South Korea

South Korean court orders release of suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol

Supporters of South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol hold a rally in Seoul on March 1. Photo: AP

Yoon’s supporters gather outside the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

South Korea on edge, with Yoon impeachment verdict expected as soon as next week

A protester wearing a mask of South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol takes part in a rally in Seoul on March 1. Photo: AP


Voice recordings spell more trouble for South Korea’s first lady

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee arrive for an event in Seongnam in October 2024. Photo: Reuters

Protesters hold up effigies depicting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) and his wife Kim Keon-hee (left) during a rally calling for the South Korean president’s resignation, in Seoul in November 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

As Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment trial ends in South Korea, will embattled president prevail?

Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shout slogans and hold flags and placards reading “People are watching” and “Impeachment nullity” during a rally near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Constitutional Court during the final hearing over President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during a rally near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, during the final hearing of Yoon’s impeachment trial on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

South Korean police stand guard in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Tuesday during the final hearing of Yoon’s impeachment trial. Photo: EPA-EFE

This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

East Asia

Yoon was arrested in January on insurrection charges over his botched attempt to impose martial law


Yoon was arrested in January on insurrection charges over his botched attempt to impose martial law.


Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korea martial law 2024