Korean court concludes hearing on legality of ex-President Yoon’s arrest
A court hearing on the legality of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest concluded Friday with Yoon personally making a case for his release over his deteriorating health, Yonhap reports.
The closed-door hearing at the Seoul Central District Court began at 10:15 a.m. and ended around six hours later after Yoon's lawyers and special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team presented contrary arguments for and against his release.
The court will review the arguments before determining whether the arrest was legal and should remain in place. The result will be out within 24 hours but could come earlier, before the end of the day.
Yoon's lawyers reportedly stressed that the criminal charges leveled against him over his failed attempt to impose martial law cannot be supported and that he poses no risk of destroying evidence.
In particular, they sought to highlight that the five key charges the special counsel team listed on the arrest warrant -- including his alleged violation of the rights of Cabinet members and his alleged creation of a false martial law document -- were already covered under the insurrection charge for which Yoon is currently standing trial.
Meanwhile, Yoon also spoke for 30 minutes about his deteriorating health.
"His liver is in really bad shape so he submitted the relevant materials and explained that he has difficulty moving," Yoo Jung-hwa, one of Yoon's lawyers, told reporters after the hearing.
The special counsel team, however, asserted the need to keep him in custody, saying the five charges could all be supported and classified as serious crimes.
Moreover, they cited concerns he could influence witness testimony or destroy evidence.
Yoon arrived at the court at around 9 a.m. He was escorted straight into the holding cell in a transport vehicle, avoiding contact with the press.
The ousted president filed for the court review Wednesday, less than a week after he was placed under arrest at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, over the five charges related to his attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3.
If the court rules in favor of Yoon, he will be released and stand trial without detention.
Since his latest arrest, Yoon has skipped his insurrection trial twice and said he will boycott all future hearings unless Cho's team is removed from the courtroom.
This is the second time he has been arrested.
The first time was in January, but he was released in March after a court accepted his request to cancel his arrest.
Earlier, it was reported that former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested again.