Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul after his release from detention on Saturday
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul after his release from detention on Saturday
Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached South Korean President who is standing trial on insurrection charges over his decision to impose martial law in December, was released from a detention centre on Saturday, a day after a court ruled that his detention was invalid.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that prosecutors had violated procedural rules by holding Yoon in detention longer than legally allowed before indicting him in January. The procedural violation rendered Yoon’s detention invalid, the court said. Prosecutors, who had a week to appeal the decision, requested instead that he be released.
Yoon smiled broadly and waved at supporters as he walked out of a detention centre south of Seoul, where he had been held since January 15. He clenched his fist in a victorious gesture and bowed towards supporters. His release does not affect the insurrection charge he faces in a Seoul criminal court related to his martial law declaration, or the separate proceedings at the Constitutional Court.
New York Times News Service