SEOUL, South Korea — The legal team representing the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea was unsuccessful in their attempt to secure his release from detention on Thursday. This followed his arrest at his home for questioning regarding allegations of rebellion stemming from his declaration of martial law last month.
Yoon spent over ten hours being interrogated on Wednesday at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and chose to exercise his right to remain silent. On Thursday, he declined further inquiries from anti-corruption investigators, as his legal representatives argued that the ongoing investigation was unlawful.
Yoon’s lawyers appealed to the Seoul Central District Court to consider his release, challenging the legality of the detention order issued by the Seoul Western District Court. However, their request was denied late Thursday.
Prior to his detention, Yoon had evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning. This ultimately resulted in a significant law enforcement operation involving hundreds of personnel who detained him at his home in Seoul. Investigators are likely to seek formal arrest in the days ahead.
The Corruption Investigation Agency is currently conducting a joint inquiry with police and military authorities to determine if Yoon’s martial law declaration amounted to a failed rebellion. They must either ask for a court order to formally arrest him or release him within a 48-hour window.
On Thursday, Yoon’s legal team filed complaints with prosecutors claiming that the raid on the presidential residence, which led to his detention, was unlawful. Yoon did not attend the Central District Court hearing regarding his detention warrant due to security concerns, according to his lawyer, Seok Dong-hyeon.
A large group of Yoon’s supporters gathered near the court and detention center, protesting for hours with banners and chants demanding his release.
This incident marks a significant political crisis for South Korea since its democratization in the late 1980s. Yoon triggered turmoil when he attempted to break a legislative deadlock by declaring martial law and deploying military forces around the National Assembly on December 3. However, the stand-off lasted just a few hours before lawmakers voted to lift the martial law measure.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-controlled assembly voted for impeachment on December 14, with accusations of rebellion against him. Yoon’s fate now lies in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which has begun its deliberations on whether to formally remove him from office or to dismiss the charges and reinstate him.
Despite the mounting inquiries into his actions on December 3, Yoon and his allies have attempted to obstruct the investigation. He has ignored previous summons to provide testimony for weeks, remaining at his official residence and resisting police efforts to detain him. His legal team argued that locations potentially connected to military secrets cannot be searched without consent of the person in charge—Yoon himself—and that the anti-corruption agency lacked the legal grounds to probe allegations of rebellion.
One attempt to detain Yoon was resisted by the presidential security service as they barricaded the residence. He was ultimately taken into custody after five hours when hundreds of anti-corruption investigators and police executed a second raid on the compound.
In a video message recorded before being taken to the anti-corruption agency’s headquarters, Yoon expressed his dismay at the current state of the rule of law in the nation, aligning with his lawyers’ assertions that the anti-corruption agency overstepped its authority. Nonetheless, he agreed to detention to avert any potential violence.
The Constitutional Court declined to allow a delay requested by Yoon’s lawyers for a hearing scheduled for Thursday, although Yoon maintains the right to attend even while in custody.
If the court grants a formal arrest warrant for Yoon, investigators may extend his detention to a maximum of 20 days while preparing the case for public prosecutors to consider an indictment.
Should prosecutors charge Yoon with rebellion or abuse of power, it’s possible he would remain detained until the first court ruling, which generally occurs within six months. Under South Korean law, a convicted leader of rebellion could face severe penalties, including the death sentence or life imprisonment.
