North Korea reports on Yoon’s detention and impeachment trial
Published: 24 Jan. 2025, 09:36
![Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at the Constitutional Court on Jan. 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/24/20f7b6a8-6a85-4438-9130-432a6bac0e87.jpg)
Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at the Constitutional Court on Jan. 23. [YONHAP]
North Korea's state media on Friday reported on President Yoon Suk Yeol's detention for an investigation into his short-lived imposition of martial law and the accelerating impeachment trial against him.
"Puppet Yoon Suk Yeol who had been under interrogation after being arrested on charges of masterminding an insurrection was detained at the Seoul Detention Center on Jan. 19 and his impeachment trial is accelerating," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The same article was published in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, which caters to general domestic readers, on its international page.
The report marks North Korea's first direct reference to Yoon's detention, following indirect reports by North Korean media on Jan. 17, citing foreign news outlets, two days after he was taken into custody.
The impeached president was detained on Jan. 15 over his martial law bid last month, and a Seoul court issued another warrant on Jan. 19 to extend his custody for investigation.
The KCNA detailed the grounds for the court's warrant issuance, stating it acknowledged Yoon's charges of deploying armed martial law troops to shut down the National Assembly and the necessity of detaining him.
"Puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, 47 days after the martial law incident ... was placed in a solitary cell with the prisoner number '0010' for the first time as a sitting president," the KCNA said.
The report also described Yoon's attendance at a Constitutional Court hearing for his impeachment trial, noting he was transported in a prisoner vehicle in a "haggard" condition.
Yoon "blabbered in an attempt to justify" his behavior while vehemently denying all criminal charges related to his martial law bid, the report said, also adding that Yoon could face life in prison or the capital punishment if convicted of insurrection.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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