Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

South Korea's Impeached President Attends Court To Fight Detention Extension


(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP

Seoul: Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended court for the first time on Saturday to fight a request by investigators to extend his detention as they probe his failed martial law bid.

Tens of thousands of Yoon's supporters rallied outside the court and scuffled with Police as they chanted support for the suspended leader, who plunged South Korea into its worst Political chaos in decades with his bid to suspend civilian rule.

The president's December 3 martial law declaration lasted just six hours, with lawmakers voting it down despite him ordering soldiers to storm parliament to stop them. He was impeached soon after.

Yoon was detained in a dawn raid on Wednesday on insurrection charges after he refused investigators' summons and went to ground in his residence, using his presidential security detail to resist arrest.

South Korea's first sitting president to be detained, Yoon also declined to cooperate during the initial 48 hours detectives were allowed to hold him.

The disgraced leader remains in custody after investigators requested a new warrant on Friday to extend his detention.

Yoon "explained and answered faithfully regarding the facts, evidence, and legal issues", his lawyer Yoon Kab-keun told reporters after Saturday's hearing.

The court must decide whether to free Yoon, which analysts say is unlikely, or extend his detention for around another 20 days. Its ruling is expected late on Saturday or early Sunday.

Crowds of Yoon's backers gathered outside the court, waving flags and holding "release the president" placards. The Yonhap news agency said police estimated up to 44,000 supporters had rushed to the area.

A total of 40 protesters were arrested for physically assaulting police officers, attacking a member of the media, or attempting to enter the court building, among other offences, a district police official in Seoul told AFP.

The hearing concluded after about five hours at around 6:50 pm (0950 GMT), a court official said.

Yoon left the court in a blue Justice Ministry van with his guards jogging alongside, AFP reporters saw, heading back to the Seoul Detention Center where he is being held.

Two vehicles carrying staff from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon, were attacked by protesters "resulting in a threatening situation for the CIO personnel", the body said in a statement.

The CIO will "request that the police (impose) strict punishment based on the evidence collected regarding these actions", it said.

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