SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared on Wednesday at a Seoul court, which is considering a special prosecutor’s request to detain him as part of a probe into his botched bid to impose martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court began hearing arguments from the special counsel team investigating Yoon’s martial law decree in December and from Yoon’s legal team on the request to detain the deposed president over allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.
After the hearing, Yoon will await the court’s decision at the Seoul Detention Center, about 20 km south of the capital, the special prosecutor said.
Yoon, who was wearing a dark navy suit and a red tie, did not answer questions from reporters as he entered the court building.
About 100 supporters gathered near the court, holding flags and signs, chanting “President Yoon” and “Yoon Again” in the stifling heat of about 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).
Scores of police officers and dozens of buses formed a tight security cordon in front of Yoon’s house as well as around the court, which is expected to announce a decision late on Wednesday or in the early hours of Thursday.
Yoon was ousted in April by the Constitutional Court, which upheld his impeachment by parliament for his martial law bid that shocked South Koreans and triggered months of political turmoil, entrenching already deep divisions in the country.
The former conservative president is already under a criminal trial on charges that his attempt to rule the country using martial law amounted to an insurrection, a charge that is punishable by a life sentence or even death.
But the probe has picked up pace since the special prosecution began its investigation after liberal President Lee Jae Myung was elected in June and has been looking at additional charges, including accusations that Yoon mobilised presidential guards to stop authorities from arresting him in January.
He was previously taken into custody over the earlier criminal probe, but was released from jail after 52 days on technical grounds.
The detention warrant request was made on the grounds of Yoon posing a flight risk and concerns that he might interfere with witnesses linked to his case, local media reported, citing the special prosecutors’ request.
If Yoon is detained, he is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, and the special prosecution is expected to speed up a probe into additional allegations, including whether Yoon hurt South Korea’s interests by intentionally inflaming tensions with North Korea.
Yoon’s lawyers have rejected all the allegations against him, saying the detention warrant request is unreasonable and the investigation lacks objective evidence.
(Reporting by Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)
