Seoul: A special counsel has sought an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, over allegations tied to his declaration of martial law, as confirmed by officials. The independent counsel, led by Cho Eun-suk, lodged a request for an arrest warrant with the Seoul Central District Court. The charges against Yoon include alleged abuse of power, falsification of official documents, violation of the Presidential Security Act, and obstruction of special official duties, among others, related to his declaration of martial law on December 3.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the specific reasons for the warrant request have not been disclosed. The special counsel has been intensely investigating Yoon regarding insurrection and other charges since its inception last month. Yoon was recently summoned for questioning, enduring several hours of interrogation on Saturday. Despite the allegations, Yoon has firmly denied any wrongdoing during these in-person interrogations, raising concerns among officials about potential evidence destruction or collusion with accomplices.
Yoon is accused of attempting to obstruct investigators from executing a court warrant to detain him in January. Additionally, he is suspected of directing the Presidential Security Service to delete records from secure phones used by several military commanders following his failed martial law attempt. The investigation has also honed in on suspicions that Yoon hastily convened a Cabinet meeting on the night of the martial law declaration to meet the quorum required to enforce the decree.
Notably, the treason charge was not included in the warrant. The former president is alleged to have ordered a military drone operations unit to deploy drones over Pyongyang to fabricate a justification for declaring martial law. "The treason allegation is still under investigation. As a significant portion of the inquiry remains, it was not included in the arrest warrant," stated Deputy Special Counsel Park Ji-young during a press briefing.
Yoon's legal team has criticized the move as "excessive and unwarranted," asserting that they have thoroughly explained the allegations and that no crime can be established under the law. They further claimed that the special counsel has not presented any objective evidence.
Yoon was initially detained on January 15, after ignoring three summonses from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which was investigating the martial law incident. He was then formally arrested, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be taken into custody. However, the Seoul Central District Court accepted Yoon's request to cancel the arrest, leading to his release on March 8, after 52 days in detention.