Warrant approved to detain former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol

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Seoul: According to Yonhap News Agency, a Seoul court on Tuesday authorized a warrant to hold former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached for his unsuccessful effort to establish martial rule. Notably, this is the first time the nation’s president has been arrested while in office.

According to the article, which cited sources, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was authorized by the Seoul Western District Court to issue the warrant.

Yoon’s attempt to declare martial rule throughout the nation on December 3 led to his impeachment by the National Assembly.

As part of the continuing inquiry, the court also approved a warrant to examine Yoon’s presidential home in Seoul’s Yongsan. Following Yoon’s noncompliance with three successive summonses for interrogation over the short martial rule implementation, the CIO requested the detention warrant.

The warrant is anticipated to be executed shortly by CIO authorities. After he is taken into custody, the agency will have 48 hours to determine whether to release him or ask for an arrest warrant for further incarceration. Usually, detention warrants are valid for seven days.

The court rejected Yoon’s arguments that the warrant request was unlawful since the CIO did not have jurisdiction over rebellion cases when it issued the warrants. Yoon’s allegations that he was unable to attend interrogation sessions due to the lack of preparations for his personal safety and security detail as president were also rejected by the court, according to Yonhap.

The Presidential Security Service said it will carry out the legal process after issuing the warrant. As president, Yoon is immune from criminal prosecution, but, under South Korean law, this protection does not extend to accusations of treason or rebellion.

Yoon’s effort to install martial rule in the nation led to his impeachment by the National Assembly earlier on December 14. The president of South Korea was impeached by the unicameral National Assembly by a vote of 204 to 85.

Eight votes were ruled illegal, while three National Assembly members did not cast ballots. A secret ballot was used for the voting, and impeachment required two-thirds of the vote. Every one of the assembly’s three hundred members voted.