Decision by Seoul Central District Court paves the way for the suspended leader’s release from jail.
A South Korean court has cancelled impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol’s arrest warrant, paving the way for his release from jail after he was detained for imposing martial law.
The suspended president filed the request with the Seoul Central District Court last month, pleading that the arrest warrant issued against him was illegal.
“It is reasonable to conclude that the indictment was filed after the defendant’s detention period had expired,” said a document from the Seoul Central District Court.
“To ensure procedural clarity and eliminate any doubts regarding the legality of the investigative process, it would be appropriate to issue a decision to cancel the detention,” the court added on Friday.
“South Korea’s rule of law is still alive,” Yoon’s legal counsel said after the court’s decision, according to South Korean broadcaster YTN.
Local media said Yoon is expected to be released and take part in his trial while out of detention.
However, Seok Dong-hyeon, Yoon’s lawyer, said prosecutors could still appeal the court ruling.
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“Yoon has been held for just over 50 days in a detention facility south of Seoul, pretty much since his arrest in the middle of January,” said Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from the South Korean capital.
“It does remain a question whether [Yoon] will be released later this Friday, which is an expectation, or whether the prosecutors in this case will appeal against that, in which case the detention will continue,” he added.
Rebellion
South Korea’s presidential office welcomed the court’s decision on Friday, saying it hoped Yoon would return to work soon.
The suspended president was arrested in mid-January on insurrection charges over his brief imposition of martial law weeks earlier.
Investigators have alleged that Yoon’s martial law decree amounted to rebellion. If he’s convicted of that offence, he would face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Yoon’s lawyers had argued the arrest warrant issued on January 19 that has kept him in detention was invalid because the request filed by prosecutors was procedurally flawed.
Yoon declared martial law on December 3 saying it was needed to root out “antistate” elements but lifted the decree six hours later after parliament voted to reject it. He has said he never intended to fully impose emergency military rule.
Weeks later he was impeached by the opposition-led parliament on accusations he had violated his constitutional duty by declaring martial law.
It is now up to the Constitutional Court to decide whether to formally end Yoon’s presidency or reinstate him. If the Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment, he will be officially thrown out of office and a national election will be held to choose his successor within two months.
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Yoon, 64, also faces a separate criminal trial and became the first sitting president to be arrested on criminal charges on January 15.