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Prosecutors agree to release President Yoon

Published: 08 Mar. 2025, 17:41 Updated: 08 Mar. 2025, 18:18

SARAH KIM
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President Yoon Suk Yeol bows to supporters as he leaves the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, 52 days after he was first taken into custody. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol greets supporters as he leaves the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, 52 days after he was first taken into custody. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors decided to release President Yoon Suk Yeol from custody Saturday afternoon after waiving their right to appeal a decision by the Seoul Central District Court the previous day revoking his detention.

The decision came some 27 hours after the court approved Yoon's request to cancel his arrest, which he had filed on Feb. 4, after determining that prosecutors had indicted Yoon beyond the expiry of his legal detention period.

Around 5:50 p.m. Yoon was spotted walking out of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, some 52 days after he was first taken into custody by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and 40 days after he was indicted by prosecutors on insurrection charges related to his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.

Left: Protesters rally in support of impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol near Anguk-dong in Jongno District, central Seoul. Right: Protesters against Yoon’s impeachment rally in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul. [NEWS1]

He waved at supporters who had gathered to see his release and was expected to return to the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District in central Seoul soon.

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) immediately welcomed the prosecution's decision and urged the Constitutional Court to thoroughly review Yoon's impeachment trial from the beginning.

Rep. Shin Dong-wook, a PPP spokesman, said in a statement, "We welcome the wise decision, despite the delay."

The five opposition parties, including the liberal Democratic Party, released a joint statement expressing "regret" for the prosecutor's decision, accusing Yoon of being a "ringleader" for causing an insurrection through his Dec. 3 martial law declaration who "destroyed democracy, suppressed the freedom of the people and plotted a long-term dictatorship."

They also "condemned" the prosecutor general, calling him an "accomplice" to the ploy.

BY SARAH KIM, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]