South Korea prosecutors renew request for longer detention for President Yoon
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Experts said prosecutors will have to move quickly to indict Mr Yoon Suk Yeol in order to keep him in detention.
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SEOUL – South Korean prosecutors on Jan 25 again asked for an extension of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s detention over his failed martial law bid, after a Seoul court rejected a previous demand
He was arrested in a dawn raid last week on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe.
His martial law decree lasted about six hours before it was voted down by lawmakers, who forced their way into parliament. But the incident still managed to plunge the nation into its worst political crisis in decades.
A court issued a warrant for his arrest last week, saying there was a risk he would destroy evidence, but investigators have said that the original document expires on Jan 28.
Late on Jan 24, the Seoul Central District Court turned down a request by investigators to extend his detention until Feb 6, saying it was “difficult to find sufficient grounds”, prosecutors said.
Just hours later, prosecutors filed a new request, Yonhap reported.
They must now decide whether to charge him with “leading an insurrection and abuse of power”, as recommended by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO). It
Mr Yoon remains in a detention centre in Seoul. The CIO accused him of conspiring with his former defence minister and other military commanders to “disrupt the constitutional order”.
Experts said the Jan 24 ruling means prosecutors will have to move quickly to indict Mr Yoon in order to keep him in detention.
“The judge appears to have determined that there is no justification for further investigation of Yoon and that the prosecution must decide whether to bring charges,” Mr Yoo Jung-hoon, an attorney and political commentator, told AFP.
Mr Yoon has refused to cooperate with the criminal probe into his martial law declaration, with his legal defence team arguing that the investigators lack legal authority.
He is also facing a separate hearing in the Constitutional Court which, if it upholds his impeachment, would officially remove him from office.
An election would have to be held within 60 days. AFP
