(MENAFN) Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is accused of instructing his security team to visibly carry firearms in an attempt to intimidate investigators trying to detain him earlier this year, media reported Monday.

According to a 66-page court filing submitted Sunday by a special prosecutor probing Yoon's December 3 martial law declaration, the ex-president allegedly gave these orders to senior members of the Presidential Security Service on January 11—just four days before authorities from anti-corruption and police units arrested him.

The document states that Yoon directed his security officers to be armed, claiming police would be "afraid" of them.

His legal representatives have dismissed the accusations, arguing that the detention warrant issued against him was unlawful.

Yoon was formally ousted from office in April after the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that his imposition of martial law was unconstitutional.

He had been taken into custody in January on charges of abuse of power and orchestrating an insurrection—marking the first time a South Korean president has been jailed while under investigation.

Although a district court released him in March, Yoon is still set to face trial while remaining free from pretrial detention.

MENAFN07072025000045017169ID1109768194