SEOUL, January 16. /TASS/. The Seoul Central District Court has rejected a motion challenging impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pretrial detention, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Yoon Suk Yeol was placed under arrest on January 15. On the following day, at 8:00 a.m. GMT, the court began a session to consider an appeal against the impeached leader’s custody, filed by his defense team.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers argued that the detention warrant against him, issued by the Seoul Western District Court, was invalid. They insisted that the case should have been handled by the Seoul Central District Court instead.
Yoon's side also claimed that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) lacks jurisdiction to hear insurrection charges and had no authority to investigate such cases. This motion was turned down as well.
According to Yonhap, judges also dismissed arguments that "a small number of unarmed personnel entering the National Assembly" should not be viewed as a breach of the constitutional order.
Yoon Suk Yeol is suspected of insurrection over events that took place during his botched martial law late last year. He was placed under arrest at 10:33 a.m. local time (1:33 a.m. GMT) on January 15.
While the court review was in progress, Yoon's 48-hour detention period had been put on hold while investigators submitted documents, including evidence, to the court, Yonhap said. The detention period will remain on hold until the court returns the documents to the investigators.
On December 14, 2024, South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Yoon over his decision to declare martial law, which was seen as a violation of the country’s constitution. The Constitutional Court now has to decide whether to uphold the impeachment motion or reinstate the president. Yoon has been suspended from office until the verdict is announced.