South Korean prosecutors request detention for ex-president Yoon
Yoon is facing a criminal trial on insurrection charges and was arrested in January after resisting arrest but was released on technical grounds.
Yoon, who is facing a criminal trial on insurrection charges over the martial law declaration in December, was arrested in January after resisting authorities trying to take him into custody, but was released after 52 days on technical grounds.
“Detention request is related to allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice,” the special prosecutors investigating the declaration said in a statement.
The spokesperson for the special prosecutors declined to elaborate when asked why the detention request was submitted, saying they would explain it in court proceedings to decide on whether it should be granted.
Yoon’s lawyers said in a statement that the special prosecutors had not provided credible evidence for the charges they were seeking, and his legal team would “explain in court that the request for an arrest warrant is unreasonable”.
Yoon has been accused of mobilising presidential guards to stop authorities from arresting him in January, but the court has previously dismissed the request for an arrest warrant after Yoon had initially refused to appear for questioning.