South Korea court to hold July 9 hearing on ex-leader Yoon's detention warrant
SEOUL (Reuters) -A Seoul court plans to hold a hearing on Wednesday to review a request by special prosecutors to detain former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a court official said on Monday.
The special counsel team investigating Yoon's martial law declaration in December has filed a request to the Seoul Central District Court to detain Yoon on allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.
Yoon has been accused of mobilising presidential guards to stop authorities from arresting him in January. He eventually was taken into custody but released from jail after 52 days on technical grounds.
The special prosecution that kicked off its investigation after new leader Lee Jae Myung was elected in June has been looking into additional charges against Yoon, who is already on trial for insurrection related to his short-lived martial law.
The detention warrant request was made on the grounds of the risk of him being a flight risk and concerns that he might interfere with witnesses linked to his case, local media reported, citing a special prosecutors' request.
Yoon's lawyers have rejected the allegations against him.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Russian drones bear down on Ukrainian capital, up to three injured
Firefighters work on a roof of an apartment building, damaged during Russian drone and missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko (Reuters) -Russian drones bore down on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday, with officials reporting fires in apartment and non-residential buildings a day after a record number of drones targeted the country. The head of Kyiv's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said three people had suffered shrapnel wounds. Tkachenko said six city districts had been hit, with fires breaking out in various buildings, storage areas and cars and drone fragments falling to the ground in different parts of the city. "The enemy attack is continuing," he wrote. "The defence forces are taking on enemy targets." Ukraine's military issued warnings on the Telegram messaging app that the city could also be subject to a missile attack. Reuters witnesses reported a series of loud explosions. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said emergency crews were at an apartment building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, where falling drone fragments had triggered a fire on the top floor. Another fire was being tackled, also in the city centre. Klitschko put the number of injured at two people in hospital. On Tuesday night, Russian forces unleashed their largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the now 40-month-old war, with 728 drones targeting widely separated regions, including western Ukraine. That attack took place hours after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to send more defensive weapons to Kyiv and aimed unusually sharp criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Reporting by Gleb Garanich and Ron Popeski; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing)
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
El Salvador recalls Mexico envoy after drug flight dispute
SAN SALVADOR: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced the recall of El Salvador's ambassador to Mexico for consultations following allegations by Mexican officials that a drug trafficking plane originated from the Central American nation. Bukele refuted the claims, demanding clarification from Mexico. The dispute arose after Mexico's Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch stated during a press conference that a small aircraft linked to drug traffickers had departed from El Salvador before being intercepted in Colima, Mexico. Bukele countered by sharing a flight path map indicating the plane never entered Salvadoran airspace, instead appearing off Costa Rica's coast before heading north. 'The plane flew over the Pacific Ocean and never touched Salvadoran territory,' Bukele asserted. Mexican authorities reported arresting three Mexican nationals aboard the plane and seizing 427 kilograms of cocaine. Bukele emphasized that El Salvador does not shield criminals or tolerate drug trafficking, rejecting any attempt to implicate the country in unrelated operations. Mexico's foreign ministry has yet to respond to requests for comment. The diplomatic rift highlights escalating tensions over cross-border security concerns. - Reuters
Borneo Post
2 hours ago
- Borneo Post
South Korea's disgraced ex-president Yoon detained again over martial law
Yoon leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on July 9, 2025, before being driven to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang. — AFP photo SEOUL (July 10): South Korea's disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was detained for a second time Thursday over his declaration of martial law and held in a solitary cell pending investigations into accusations of insurrection. Yoon had plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sought to subvert civilian rule on Dec 3, sending armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers voting down his declaration of martial law. He became South Korea's first sitting president to be taken into custody when he was detained in a dawn raid in January, after he spent weeks resisting arrest, using his presidential security detail to head off investigators. But he was released on procedural grounds in March, even as his trial on insurrection charges continued. After Yoon's impeachment was confirmed by the court in April, he again refused multiple summons from investigators, prompting them to seek his detention once more to ensure cooperation. The latest arrest warrant was issued over concerns that Yoon would 'destroy evidence' in the case, Nam Se-jin, a senior judge at Seoul's Central District Court said. – Solitary – The former president, 64, attended a hearing on Wednesday that lasted about seven hours, during which he rejected all charges, before being taken to a detention centre near Seoul where he awaited the court's decision on whether to detain him again. During his warrant hearing, the former president said he is now 'fighting alone', local media reported. 'The special counsel is now going after even my defence lawyers,' said Yoon during his hearing. 'One by one my lawyers are stepping away, and I may soon have to fight this alone.' Once the warrant was issued early Thursday, Yoon was placed in a solitary cell at the facility, where he can be held for up to 20 days as prosecutors prepare to formally indict him including on additional charges. 'Once Yoon is indicted, he could remain detained for up to six months following indictment,' Yun Bok-nam, president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, told AFP. 'Theoretically, immediate release is possible, but in this case, the special counsel has argued that the risk of evidence destruction remains high, and that the charges are already substantially supported.' – Long time in detention? – During the hearing, Yoon's legal team criticised the detention request as unreasonable, stressing that Yoon has been ousted and 'no longer holds any authority'. Earlier this month, the special counsel questioned Yoon about his resistance during a failed arrest attempt in January, as well as accusations that he authorised drone flights to Pyongyang to help justify declaring martial law. The former president also faces charges of falsifying official documents related to the martial law bid. Yoon has defended his martial law decision as necessary to 'root out' pro–North Korean and 'anti-state' forces. But the Constitutional Court, when ousting Yoon from office on April 4 in a unanimous decision, said his acts were a 'betrayal of people's trust' and 'denial of the principles of democracy'. South Korea's current president, Lee Jae Myung, who won the June snap election, approved legislation launching sweeping special investigations into Yoon's push for martial law and various criminal accusations tied to his administration and wife. — AFP Lawyers for a Democratic Society martial law yoon suk-yeol
