TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
South Korea's President Yoon free, trials continue after court quashes detention
Yoon remains suspended from his duties, and his criminal and impeachment trials continue over his short-lived martial law imposition on Dec. 3.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
South Korean impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol walks outside the Seoul detention center after his release in Uiwang, South Korea, on March 8, 2025. (Reuters/Kim Hong-ji)
S
outh Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol walked out of a detention centre in Seoul on Saturday after prosecutors decided not to appeal a court decision to cancel the impeached leader's arrest warrant on insurrection charges.
Yoon remains suspended from his duties, and his criminal and impeachment trials continue over his short-lived martial law imposition on Dec. 3.
The Seoul Central District Court cancelled Yoon's arrest warrant on Friday, citing the timing of his indictment and "questions about the legality" of the investigation process.
"First of all, I would like to thank the Central District Court for their courage and determination in correcting the illegality," Yoon said in a statement.
His lawyers said the court decision "confirmed that the president's detainment was problematic in both procedural and substantive aspects," calling the ruling the "beginning of a journey to restore rule of law".
Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.
In Yoon impeachment trial, the Constitutional Court is expected to decide in coming days whether to reinstate him or remove him from office.
Yoon, the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office, has been in custody since Jan. 15.
On Saturday, some 38,000 Yoon supporters rallied in Seoul, while 1,500 people demonstrated against him, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unofficial police estimates.
