South Korean Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Former President Yoon Over Martial Law Attempt
On Thursday, a court in Seoul issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection with his unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law, marking his second time in custody.
The Seoul Central District Court granted the warrant shortly after a hearing to evaluate the request made by special counsel Cho Eun-suk.
Cho’s team presented five primary allegations against Yoon, including claims that he infringed upon the rights of Cabinet members by convening only a select group for a meeting prior to his martial law declaration on December 3.
Yoon, accompanied by his legal representatives, attended the hearing and denied all accusations before being taken to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, located just south of the capital, where he will await the court’s ruling.
Among the allegations, Yoon is accused of fabricating a martial law declaration document post-December 3 to lend credibility to his actions, which was reportedly signed by then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before being discarded.
Additional charges include his purported directive to the presidential spokesperson for foreign media to issue false statements denying any intention to undermine the constitutional order through the martial law initiative, his alleged orders to the Presidential Security Service to prevent his detention by investigators in early January, and his supposed command to erase call logs from secure phones used by three military leaders.
This marks Yoon’s second arrest; his first occurred in January while he was still in office, but a court later approved his request to annul that arrest, leading to his release in March.
