Detention extended for S. Korea's impeached president

Detention extended for S. Korea's impeached president

A South Korean court issued a warrant early Sunday allowing for the extended detention of the country's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as investigators probe his failed martial law bid.

Tens of thousands of Yoon's backers had rallied outside the court on Saturday and scuffled with police as they chanted support for the suspended leader, who plunged South Korea into its worst political chaos in decades with his bid to suspend civilian rule.

The president's December 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.

Yoon was detained in a dawn raid Wednesday on insurrection charges after he refused investigators' summons and went to ground in his residence, using his presidential security detail to resist arrest.

South Korea's first sitting president to be detained, Yoon also declined 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 after investigators requested -- and were granted -- a new warrant to extend his detention.

The Seoul Western District Court's warrant allows investigators to keep him in custody for up to 20 days, including time already spent in detention since Wednesday.

After Saturday's hearing, Yoon's lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said the president "explained and answered faithfully regarding the facts, evidence, and legal issues".

Analysts had said it would have been unlikely for the court to free Yoon.

Crowds of Yoon's backers gathered outside the building, waving flags and holding "release the president" placards. Yonhap said police estimated up to 44,000 supporters had rushed to the area.

A total of 40 protesters were arrested for physically assaulting police officers, attacking a member of the media, or attempting to enter the court building, among other offences, a district police official in Seoul told AFP.

Yoon left court in a blue justice ministry van with his guards jogging alongside, heading back to the Seoul Detention Center where he is being held.

Two vehicles carrying staff from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon, were attacked by protesters "resulting in a threatening situation for the CIO personnel", the body said in a statement.

The CIO will "request that the police (impose) strict punishment based on the evidence collected regarding these actions", it said.

- 'Passionate patriotism' -

Yoon sent a letter through lawyers Friday thanking his supporters, who include evangelical Christians and right-wing YouTubers, for protests that he deemed "passionate patriotism".

During Saturday's hearing, some protesters outside chanted "Cha Eun-gyeong is a commie!", referring to the judge reviewing the arrest request. 

Others cried "We love you, President Yoon Suk Yeol" and "Impeachment is invalid!"

They marched while waving South Korean and American flags and took over nearby main roads. Yoon's party typically favours South Korea's US security alliance and rejects engagement with the nuclear-armed North.

"The likelihood of the court approving the arrest is very high and, aware of this, Yoon has urged maximum mobilisation among his hardline supporters," Chae Jin-won of Humanitas College at Kyung Hee University told AFP before the warrant was issued.

"Today's protests serve as a sort of farewell event between Yoon and his extreme support base."

The crisis has seemingly boosted support for the conservative People Power Party (PPP), for whom Yoon won the presidential election in 2022.

A Gallup survey published Friday showed the PPP's approval rose to 39 percent, three points higher than the opposition Democratic Party.

- More legal woes -

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 Wednesday he had agreed to leave his compound to avoid "bloodshed" but that he did not accept the legality of the investigation.

He has refused to answer investigators' questions, with his legal team saying Yoon explained his position the day he was arrested.

Yoon 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, Yoon will formally lose the presidency and elections will be called within 60 days.

He did not attend the first two hearings this week but the trial, which could last months, will continue in his absence.

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Originally published as Detention extended for S. Korea's impeached president