South Korea investigators file request to extend President Yoon’s detention
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the jail cell where he is being held was “a little uncomfortable”, but that he was doing well.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL – South Korean investigators probing President Yoon Suk Yeol for alleged insurrection asked a Seoul court on Jan 17 to extend his detention as the embattled leader again refused to be questioned.
On Jan 15, Mr Yoon became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested,
In order to hold Mr Yoon in custody for longer, investigators at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that is leading the inquiry need to request a court to approve a detention warrant for up to 20 days.
A CIO official told a briefing on Jan 17 that investigators had made the request due to “the gravity of the crime”. The Seoul Western District Court will review the request on the afternoon of Jan 18, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In a statement disseminated by his lawyer, Mr Yoon said the jail cell where he is being held was “a little uncomfortable”, but that he was doing well.
He also thanked his supporters, hundreds of whom gathered outside the prison in chilly conditions, saying: “I am grateful for the people’s burning patriotism.”
The Seoul Central District Court struck down a challenge on Jan 16 from Mr Yoon’s lawyers over the legality of his arrest.
Mr Yoon stonewalled efforts by the CIO to interrogate him on Jan 16 and again on Jan 17, while his party has capitalised on political polarisation to improve its approval ratings since his arrest, polling showed.
“He has fully stated his basic position on the first day (of the arrest), and we believe there is no reason or need to answer the Q&A style back and forth,” Mr Yoon’s lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon said in a statement.
The suspended President’s legal team has denied that Mr Yoon masterminded an insurrection, a crime in South Korea punishable by life imprisonment or, even technically, the death penalty.
Mr Seok said on Jan 17 that he expected investigators to seek a detention warrant, but hoped there would be a more careful and comprehensive consideration of the arrest’s “illegality” when a court reviewed the warrant.
South Korea is grappling with its worst political crisis in decades, sparked by Mr Yoon's brief attempt to impose martial law
Mr Yoon was impeached on Dec 14, 2024, and he faces a Constitutional Court trial that started this week to decide whether to permanently suspend his powers or return him to office.
Support for ruling party up
Opinion polls have shown most South Koreans support his impeachment, but Mr Yoon’s legal plight and defiance over his arrest appear to have fired up some of his supporters.
The approval rating for his ruling People Power Party (PPP) was 39 per cent in a Gallup Korea poll released on Jan 17, up from 34 per cent a week ago, and overtaking the main opposition Democratic Party – whose support stood at 36 per cent – for the first time since August 2024.
Gallup Korea said Mr Yoon and his party’s constant messaging towards supporters appeared to have had an impact when political divisions deepened around his arrest.
His supporters gathered outside the jail on Jan 17 welcomed the uptick in PPP’s approval rating.
“People are now waking up to the fact that our country is at risk,” said Ms Noh Eun-sook, 57, who was wearing a woolly hat and chanting for Mr Yoon’s release.
Mr Yoon was arrested after a weeks-long stand-off when more than 3,000 police officers swooped on his residence.
A previous attempt to arrest him on Jan 3 failed after an hours-long stand-off between investigators and Mr Yoon’s personal security.
Mr Kim Sung-hoon, acting chief of the Presidential Security Service, was arrested on Jan 17 for blocking investigators’ initial attempt on Jan 3 to arrest Mr Yoon, Yonhap said.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Kim said he was carrying out his “legitimate security duties”, and denied allegations by some opposition lawmakers that the President ordered guards to use weapons against investigators trying to arrest him.
While key ally Washington has criticised Mr Yoon’s declaration of martial law, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned last week that there was a risk that nuclear-armed North Korea could try to exploit the political situation in the South.
Neighbouring North Korea has largely avoided public comment on the political chaos in Seoul, but Mr Yoon's arrest was reported in state media on Jan 17, two days after the event.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper cited foreign media, saying it was the first arrest of an incumbent president in South Korea.
“Yoon Suk Yeol is not following legal procedures at the expense of the national order for individual interests,” it said. REUTERS
