Seoul: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been re-arrested over last year’s failed martial law bid that plunged the country into political turmoil. Yoon was first arrested in January this year following a lengthy stand-off, with investigators scaling barricades and cutting through barbed wire to take him into custody from his residence here.
Yoon was released two months later after a court overturned his arrest on technical grounds, but still faces trial.
Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in April over the order, which saw military rule introduced for six hours in December. A senior judge at Seoul’s Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon on Wednesday, citing fears he could destroy evidence, the BBC reported.
Yoon, who was the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, faces trial on charges of leading an insurrection over his attempt to impose martial law.
During Wednesday’s seven-hour hearing, a special counsel team argued for the arrest warrant on five key charges, the BBC reported citing South Korean news agency Yonhap.
The charges include Yoon’s alleged violation of the rights of cabinet members by not inviting some of them to a meeting before he declared martial law.
Yoon initially attended the hearing alongside his lawyers to deny the charges, before being taken to Seoul Detention Center to await a decision on an arrest warrant.
Prosecutors have reportedly found evidence that Yoon ordered military drones to be flown over North Korea to provoke a reaction that would justify his martial law declaration, according to reports.
Other senior officials also face charges including insurrection and abuse of authority over the martial law declaration.
Insurrection is one of a small number of criminal charges from which South Korean presidents do not have immunity, but now Yoon is no longer president he is open to other criminal charges.
South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, was elected in June following a snap election after Yoon’s impeachment.
Lee campaigned on the promise to strengthen the country’s democracy following the crisis and appointed a special counsel team to investigate Yoon over the imposition of martial law, as well as other criminal allegations surrounding his administration.
