SEOUL, March 8. /TASS/. The South Korean prosecutor's office has chosen not to appeal the court decision and therefore authorize the release of President Yoon Suk Yeol from custody, the Yonhap news agency reported.
He was held in a detention center on a criminal case of insurrection due to martial law events.
Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court ruled to overturn Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest and free him. The judges deemed that the prosecutor's office was several hours late in pressing formal charges of insurrection. On January 26, the prosecutor's office brought charges, which resulted in an extension of the president's detention. The court said the prosecutor's office should have filed charges by 9 a.m. on January 26, rather than the evening of that day. The prosecutor's office believed that the term should only be counted in days, not hours and minutes. The prosecution and the court were divided over the likelihood of evidence being destroyed.
Seok Dong-hyun, the president's lawyer, clarified on March 7 that the president could not be released as long as the prosecutor's office had the ability to file an appeal within 7 days. He also argued that this legal mechanism had been found to be unconstitutional.
On January 15, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking officials arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence in Seoul for insurrection against the constitutional order due to the events that took place under martial law. On January 19, the Seoul Western District Court ruled to take the head of state into custody.
Earlier, the agency reported, citing sources, that the South Korean prosecutor's office senior officials had felt that the team handling the case should agree with the court's opinion. Yoon Suk Yeol was formerly the prosecutor general of the country.