South Korea prosecutors to pursue Yoon’s conviction despite jail release
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South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been on criminal trial since Feb 20 over allegations that he led an insurrection.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors will pursue President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conviction for insurrection despite a court decision ordering the release of the impeached leader from prison, said the head of the prosecutors’ office on March 10.
Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung said he respected the weekend court ruling but did not agree with its assessment that the indictment filing was past the legally allowed expiry time, which the court said made Mr Yoon’s detention while on trial illegal.
“I’ve directed that the prosecution makes arguments on various disputes during trial, and we’ll do everything we can to pursue this indictment,” he told reporters when asked whether the court ruling meant it was likely to drop the case.
Mr Yoon has been on criminal trial since Feb 20 over allegations that he led an insurrection by declaring martial law on Dec 3
His lawyers had filed a motion to cancel his detention and said the ruling on March 7 showed that the case against Mr Yoon was politically motivated and had no legal justification.
The embattled leader walked out of a detention centre on March 8,
He was impeached by Parliament and remains suspended from power. The Constitutional Court is expected to decide in the coming days whether to overturn the impeachment and reinstate him or remove him from office permanently.
If Mr Yoon is removed, a new presidential election will be held within 60 days. He had said his martial law declaration was needed to root out “anti-state” elements; Parliament rejected it within hours.
The decision by the Seoul Central District Court on March 7 to cancel Mr Yoon’s arrest warrant, rather than allow the automatic extension of his detention during his trial, drew mixed reactions from the public and political parties.
The prosecution decided not to appeal the ruling based on a conservative reading of Constitutional Court decisions in previous cases rejecting prosecutors’ appeals, Mr Shim said.
Mr Yoon was met by enthusiastic crowds of supporters as he walked out of the detention centre and as he returned to his official residence, where he had been arrested on Jan 15
