South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, will appear at a hearing in a Seoul court. File  
| Photo Credit: Reuters

South Korea’s impeached President will appear at a hearing in a Seoul court on Saturday (January 18, 2025) to oppose a formal arrest over last month’s imposition of martial law, his lawyers said.

Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been in detention since he was apprehended on Wednesday (January 15, 2025) in a massive law enforcement operation at his residence, faces potential rebellion charges linked to his declaration of martial law on Dec 3, which set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and the military, requested the Seoul Western District Court to grant a warrant for Yoon’s formal arrest.

Yoon is expected to argue that there’s no need for him to be in custody during an investigation at a hearing set for 2 p.m. this afternoon. The judge is anticipated to make a decision by late Saturday (January 18) or early Sunday (January 19).

Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters rallied overnight at the court, calling for his release.

If Yoon is arrested, investigators can extend his detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to public prosecutors for indictment. If the court rejects the investigators’ request, Yoon will be released and return to his residence.

The crisis began when Yoon, in an attempt to break through legislative gridlock, imposed military rule and sent troops to the National Assembly and election offices. The standoff lasted only hours after lawmakers who managed to get through a blockade voted to lift the measure. The opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on December 14.

Security guards stand outside the official residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea January 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

South Korea’s Presidential security chief said Friday (January 10, 2025) that there must be no bloodshed if investigators try again to execute an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid.

Yoon has refused questioning and last week resisted arrest in a tense stand-off between his security team and investigators after his short-lived power grab plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

“I understand many citizens are concerned about the current situation where government agencies are in conflict and confrontation,” presidential security service chief Park Chong-jun told reporters Friday.

“I believe that under no circumstances should there be physical clashes or bloodshed,” he added before being questioned at the Korean National Police Agency.

Investigators secured a new arrest warrant for Yoon this week after an initial seven-day order expired on Monday, with several hundred of his supporters braving sub-zero temperatures to rush to the presidential residence.

Rival protesters have either called for Yoon’s impeachment to be declared invalid or for him to be detained immediately. Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.

Yoon’s legal team have said they will not comply with the current warrant. The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) has declared that it would “prepare thoroughly” for the second arrest attempt.