Unrelenting force: Supporters of Yoon gathering outside the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul. — AP
THE court has extended the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over concerns he could destroy evidence linked to his martial law declaration, enraging his supporters who attacked the court building.
Hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters smashed windows and broke down doors to enter the court after the decision was announced, chanting the name of the president, who plunged South Korea into its worst political chaos in decades with his bid to suspend civilian rule.
AFP reporters saw hundreds of police entering the building, with one officer from Seoul’s Mapo district separately telling AFP that it was an “unfolding” situation.
The president’s Dec 3 martial law declaration lasted just six hours, with lawmakers voting it down despite him ordering soldiers to storm parliament to stop them. He was impeached soon after and suspended from duties.
Yoon was detained in a dawn raid last Wednesday on insurrection charges after he refused investigators’ summons and went to ground in his residence, using his presidential security detail to resist arrest.
The Seoul Western District Court said in a statement sent to AFP yesterday that it had issued a formal arrest warrant extending his detention as “there is a concern that the suspect may destroy evidence”.
South Korea’s first sitting president to be detained, Yoon had also refused to cooperate during the initial 48 hours detectives were allowed to hold him.
The disgraced leader, who attended court for the first time on Saturday over his case, will now remain in custody, with the new warrant allowing investigators to keep him for up to 20 days.
Yoon’s lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon slammed the court decision, but also warned the president’s supporters not to escalate the situation.
“This is likely not what President Yoon desires,” he said in a statement, adding that such violence could also “create burdens” for the president’s future trials.
The decision to approve Yoon’s continued detention gives prosecutors time to formalise a criminal indictment for insurrection, a charge for which he could be jailed for life or executed if found guilty.
Such an indictment would also mean Yoon would likely be detained for a maximum six months during the trial.
Yoon said last Wednesday that he had agreed to leave his compound to avoid “bloodshed” but that he did not accept the legality of the investigation.
He has also been absent from a parallel probe at the Constitutional Court, which is considering whether to uphold his impeachment.
If that court rules against him, the impeached leader will formally lose the presidency and elections will be called within 60 days. — AFP