A SOUTH Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over his attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
The arrest warrant was issued in the early hours of Thursday, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Yoon had appeared in a Seoul court on Wednesday for a seven-hour hearing to review the arrest warrant requested by prosecutors, and was then taken to a detention centre while he waited for the court’s decision.
Yoon, a conservative, was removed from his position as president by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in April over his martial law attempt, after being accused of overstepping his authority. Parliament had voted to impeach Yoon on December 14, but needed the approval of the Constitutional Court.
Yoon was previously arrested in January while he was still president, but was released in March after his arrest was overturned.
However, the Seoul Central District Court accepted on Thursday Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s argument that there was a risk Yoon would seek to destroy evidence if he was not arrested.
Cho’s team had questioned him twice before submitting a request for Yoon’s arrest warrant on Sunday. Yoon’s lawyers had said that the request was excessive and without basis.
The former president is accused of abuse of power, falsifying official documents and obstruction of official duties, as well as charges related to his attempt at imposing martial law on South Korea, in what prosecutors have labelled an attempted rebellion and an attempt to seize total power and detain his opponents. He denies the charges.
Yoon’s martial law attempt fell flat, however, after protesters and lawmakers quickly descended on South Korea’s parliament, defying soldiers, before the parliamentarians voted to lift the martial law order.
South Korea voted in Yoon’s liberal rival, Lee Jae-myung, in June elections. He approved legislation to launch investigations into Yoon’s martial law attempt and other criminal allegations involving his wife and administration.
Yoon could potentially now spend months in custody, with the possibility of more charges against him being filed, until his trial begins.
If he is found guilty of the charges he currently faces, he may be punished by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Much of the South Korean public reacted with vitriol towards Yoon’s actions against a liberal-majority legislature he accused of blocking his agenda. The country is one of the most economically advanced in Asia and has had a strong democracy for more than 30 years.
