South Korean court orders impeached president's release after cancelling arrest

A South Korean court ordered the release of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after accepting his request to cancel the arrest related to his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Yoon had been in custody since January 15, following his detention on charges of inciting insurrection with his December 3 martial law declaration, Caliber.Az reports per South Korean media.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Yoon's request, which was made in February, after determining that his Jan. 26 indictment on insurrection charges was issued after the initial detention period had expired.

The 10-day detention period, which began when Yoon was first arrested, excluded the time spent sending documents for a court review of the arrest warrant. The detention deadline was pushed back to around 9 a.m. on January 26, but the prosecution's indictment came just before 7 p.m. that day, according to the court’s findings.

The court also sided with Yoon's legal team, which questioned the legality of the investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which Yoon’s lawyers argued was outside the scope of its remit.

In response, the prosecution argued that the indictment was timely, claiming that the criminal procedure code requires the detention period to be counted in days rather than in minutes or hours, as Yoon’s team had suggested.

The two sides also clashed over whether Yoon posed a risk of destroying evidence. However, the court's ruling allows Yoon to stand trial without being held in physical custody.

Yoon's legal team issued a statement welcoming the decision, asserting that “The Seoul Central District Court's decision to approve the arrest cancellation confirms the rule of law remains alive in the country. Now the ball is in the prosecution's court ... The prosecution must immediately direct the president's release.”

While the criminal procedure code generally mandates keeping the president in custody during the seven-day period for the prosecution to appeal the decision, Yoon's legal team pointed out that the Constitutional Court had previously ruled that an immediate appeal of a suspended arrest is unconstitutional.

The presidential office celebrated the court's decision, while rival political factions expressed differing views. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) strongly criticized the ruling, calling it the “release of the ringleader of insurrection” and urged the prosecution to file an immediate appeal.

By Vafa Guliyeva