Impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested again, amid his criminal trial over his December martial law declaration.
An arrest warrant for Yoon was issued by Seoul’s Central District Court earlier this week, having been sought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk. Judges cited the risk that Yoon could destroy evidence in his ongoing trial on insurrection charges.
Yoon was set to appear in court on Thursday and be questioned by Cho’s team today, but was absent. “Former President Yoon submitted a reason for absence citing health reasons,” said assistant special counsel Park Ji-young.
The special counsel may bring Yoon in for questioning by force under the Criminal Procedure Code if his absence is not explained, according to Park.
Yoon’s arrest warrant alleges he refused to include certain cabinet members in the meeting he held before declaring martial law, falsified documents about the declaration after it was made, and ordered the Presidential Security Service to block his arrest in January. He may also pose a flight risk, Cho’s team wrote.
He is currently being held at a detention centre in Uiwang, south of Seoul. Yoon can be detained for up to 20 days, which could expand to six months if he is indicted on new charges.
Yoon instituted martial law in December after an investigation was opened into his wife Kim Keon-hee and four allied officials, with the declaration being overturned hours later. He was impeached later that month, and removed from office under a Constitutional Court ruling in April.
He has been charged with leading an insurrection, with Cho appointed special counsel last month to launch further investigations. If convicted, Yoon could face life in prison or the death penalty, though South Korea has not conducted executions since 1997.
Yoon was also arrested in January after a stand-off with investigators, and was detained for 52 days. He was released after Seoul’s Central District Court voided his arrest warrant on technical grounds.
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