Court blocks petition to release impeached South Korean prez

Seoul, Jan 16: Lawyers for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed in their court effort to secure his release on Thursday, a day after he was detained at his residence for questioning over rebellion allegations linked to his martial law declaration last month.
Yoon was sent to a detention centre near the country’s capital, Seoul, after undergoing more than 10 hours of questioning on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, during which he exercised his right to remain silent. Yoon refused further questioning by the anti-corruption officials on Thursday as his lawyers maintained that the investigation was illegal.
Lawyers had asked the Seoul Central District Court to consider his release, questioning the validity of the detention warrant for Yoon issued by the Seoul Western District Court.
But the Central District Court denied their petition late Thursday.
President Yoon Suk Yeol exercised his right to remain silent as he underwent more than 10 hours of questioning on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, following a massive law enforcement operation to detain him at his official residence in Seoul.
Earlier, hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered in the streets near the court amid a heavy police presence, waving banners and chanting slogans calling for his release.
Yoon set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s when he attempted to break through gridlock in legislation by declaring martial law and deploying troops around the National Assembly on Dec 3. The standoff lasted only hours before lawmakers managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure. (PTI)