Korean President Yoon formally arrested, violent supporters break into court

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Korean President Yoon formally arrested, violent supporters break into court

Angry supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol attempt to break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, after the court issued a formal arrest warrant for him. [YONHAP]

Angry supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol attempt to break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, after the court issued a formal arrest warrant for him. [YONHAP]

A Seoul court formally issued an arrest warrant early Sunday for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law.  
 
This marks the first time in Korean constitutional history that a sitting president was formally arrested. It comes 47 days after Yoon's botched declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year.  
 
The Seoul Western District Court reached the decision shortly before 3 a.m., citing the risk that Yoon could destroy evidence after holding a five-hour hearing Saturday, attended by the impeached president.  
 
Following reports of Yoon's arrest, some of his supporters gathered in front of the Seoul Western District Court turned violent and broke into the building, smashing windows and engaging in scuffles with police officers.    
 
Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, in footage from YouTube. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, in footage from YouTube. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Angry supporters broke through the police barricade at the back gate of the court, some climbing over the courthouse wall. They also broke windows and doors and entered the building around 3:21 a.m.
 
Supporters appeared to be looking for the judge who issued the warrant, and others called out the president's name.
 
They also reportedly threw plastic chairs and cigarette ashtrays at police officers while others tried to snatch police shields. Video footage showed the protesters destroying the walls and interior of the court, effectively seizing the building.  
 
Police sprayed fire extinguishers at the protesters but had difficulties controlling them, and more officers were dispatched to the scene to contain the situation.  
 
At 3:32 a.m., police were dispatched inside the court to suppress the violence and arrest protesters. At around 3:55 a.m., police warned the protesters to disperse voluntarily.
 
The court held the hearing from around 2 p.m. to 6:50 p.m., allowing Yoon to deny insurrection charges raised against him by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) after his short-lived martial law declaration.    
 

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At 1:24 p.m., Yoon, transferred in a Justice Ministry vehicle accompanied by a Presidential Security Service (PSS) convoy, departed the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, to head to the court in western Seoul. Police controlled traffic along Yoon's route to the court.  
 
Cha Eun-kyung, a senior Seoul Western District Court judge, presided over the hearing and reviewed the risks of Yoon taking flight or destroying evidence, among other factors. Yoon's defense team comprised eight lawyers, while the CIO was represented by six prosecutors.  
 
The CIO prosecutors spoke first for 110 minutes, said Yoon's lawyers. After a PowerPoint presentation by Yoon's defense team, the president spoke for about 40 minutes. The president gave a five-minute closing remark as the hearing closed, his attorneys said.  
 
The arrest warrant hearing ended at around 6:50 p.m. Yoon later departed the Seoul Western District Court in a Justice Ministry vehicle, flanked by security, at around 7:30 p.m. He arrived at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, at around 8 p.m., where he awaited to hear the court's decision.
 
Yun Gap-geun, Yoon's attorney, told reporters as he left the court that President Yoon "responded truthfully" and will now "wait for the court to make a decision."  
 
Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol rally as a convoy carrying the Korean impeached leader returns to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, after an arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 18. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol rally as a convoy carrying the Korean impeached leader returns to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, after an arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 18. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Some 44,000 supporters of Yoon protesting his arrest gathered in front of the court Saturday afternoon, according to police estimates. Similarly, a group of Yoon's supporters gathered outside the detention center when his convoy returned from the court Saturday evening.  
 
The Mapo Police Precinct said Saturday that some 40 people were arrested near the Seoul Western District Court for assault, disorderly conduct or trespassing. Seven people were accused of assaulting police, while 22 people tried to climb walls and gates to get into Seoul Western District Court. Another 10 people are accused of attacking a CIO vehicle.  
 
Police stand guard as supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol gather to watch a convoy carrying the Korean impeached leader return to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, after an arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 18. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Police stand guard as supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol gather to watch a convoy carrying the Korean impeached leader return to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, after an arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 18. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Yoon has been in custody at the Seoul Detention Center after the CIO and police executed a warrant to detain him at 10:33 a.m. Wednesday at his official residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul. He has exercised his right to remain silent during the CIO investigators' questioning of him.  
 
By law, the agency has 48 hours from the moment it detained the president to keep him in custody under its original warrant to hold and investigate him over suspicions that he masterminded an insurrection against the country's democratic order by declaring martial law on Dec. 3. That timer was paused on Wednesday while the Seoul Central District Court considered a petition from Yoon's legal team challenging the validity of his detention. After the court dismissed the petition, that hold was lifted.
 
The CIO formally filed for an arrest warrant to extend Yoon's detainment on Friday.  
 
The CIO said the arrest warrant for Yoon was issued around 2:50 a.m. Sunday and confirmed plans to investigate Yoon's case "in accordance with the law and legal process."  
 
The court issuing the arrest warrant Sunday would allow the CIO to hold the president for questioning for up to 20 more days.
 
Afterward, the CIO will transfer the case to prosecutors for an indictment. The Constitutional Court is separately deliberating whether to uphold the parliament's decision to remove Yoon from office.
 
Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, in footage from YouTube. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol break into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Jan. 19, in footage from YouTube. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Following the court's decision to arrest him, Yoon is expected to undergo formal detainment procedures, including a physical examination, assignment of a prisoner number and a mug shot. He will also have to wear a prison uniform issued by the detention center instead of civilian clothing. Male prisoners wear khaki garbs. Yoon will also be transferred from the waiting room for arrested suspects to a general inmate block.    
 
Considering that Yoon is an incumbent president, he is expected to remain in solitary confinement.  
 
Yoon was impeached by the opposition-led National Assembly on Dec. 14 and has had his presidential powers suspended since.  
 

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
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