South Korea’s former president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has been arrested for a second time and returned to a solitary jail cell over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law last December.
Yoon’s detention on Thursday came after a court in the South Korean capital, Seoul, ordered his arrest, citing concerns the former leader could seek to destroy evidence.
The 64-year-old politician, who is on trial for insurrection, is being held at the Seoul Detention Center, where he spent 52 days earlier in the year before being released four months ago on technical grounds.
Yoon plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sought to subvert civilian government on December 3, sending armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from 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 spending weeks resisting arrest, using his presidential security detail to head off investigators.
But he was released on procedural grounds in March.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court then removed Yoon from office in April, paving the way for a snap election, which was held in June.
The country’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, approved legislation launching sweeping special investigations into Yoon’s push for martial law and various criminal accusations tied to his administration and wife.
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.
Yoon has defended his martial law decision as necessary to “root out” pro-North Korean and “antistate” forces.
The latest arrest warrant against Yoon authorises his detention 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, the president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, told the AFP news agency.
“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.”
During a hearing on the arrest warrant on Wednesday, Yoon’s legal team criticised the detention request as unreasonable, stressing that Yoon has been ousted and “no longer holds any authority”.
The former president also spoke at the seven-hour hearing, saying he is now “fighting alone”, according to South Korean media.
“The special counsel is now going after even my defence lawyers,” Yoon complained. “One by one, my lawyers are stepping away, and I may soon have to fight this alone.”
Meanwhile, Yoon’s lawyers said that the former leader would not attend the 10th hearing of his insurrection trial on Thursday following his arrest.
Citing health concerns, Yoon’s lawyers submitted a written reason for his absence to the court shortly before the hearing was scheduled to begin, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency.
His lawyers, however, attended in his place, the agency said.
If convicted, Yoon could face a maximum penalty of life in prison or death.
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