Seoul: South Korean prosecutors remain committed to securing a conviction against President Yoon Suk Yeol for insurrection, despite a court decision ordering his release from prison, Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung stated on Monday.
Shim acknowledged the court’s ruling but disagreed with its assessment that the indictment had exceeded the legally permissible time frame, rendering Yoon’s detention unlawful.
“I’ve directed that the prosecution makes arguments on various disputes during trial, and we’ll do everything we can to pursue this indictment,” he told reporters when asked whether the ruling might lead to the case being dropped.
Yoon has been on trial since February 20 over allegations that he led an insurrection by declaring martial law on December 3. The decree remained in effect for about six hours before being lifted.
His legal team had sought to overturn his detention, arguing that the court’s decision on Friday reinforced their claim that the charges were politically motivated and lacked legal basis.
On Saturday, Yoon walked out of the detention center, nearly two months after his arrest. Despite his release, he remains suspended from office following his impeachment by parliament. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule soon on whether to uphold the impeachment or reinstate him as president.
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If the court removes Yoon from office, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days. Yoon has maintained that his martial law declaration was necessary to eliminate “anti-state” elements, though parliament swiftly rejected it within hours.
The Seoul Central District Court’s ruling on Friday to cancel Yoon’s arrest warrant, rather than allowing his detention to be automatically extended during trial, has sparked mixed reactions across the political spectrum.
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Prosecutors opted not to appeal the ruling, citing past Constitutional Court precedents rejecting such appeals.
Yoon was met by crowds of supporters as he left the detention center and returned to his official residence, where he was initially arrested on January 15, making history as the first sitting South Korean president to be detained and indicted.
