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Seoul court denies arrest warrant for Yoon, ex-president's lawyers criticize prosecutor's move

Published: 26 Jun. 2025, 10:05

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on June 23 to attend the eighth hearing in his trial on charges of leading an insurrection. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A Seoul court on Wednesday denied a special prosecutor’s request to arrest former President Yoon Suk Yeol, halting a fast-moving investigation into his alleged role in a martial law conspiracy.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the warrant around 7:50 p.m. the same day, citing Yoon’s expressed willingness to comply with summonses issued by the special counsel team. The decision came about 26 hours after Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk filed the warrant request at 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday.

Following the court’s decision, Cho said his team had issued a summons requiring Yoon to appear for questioning at 9 a.m. on Saturday. He warned that failure to comply may prompt another attempt to seek a warrant.

Yoon’s legal team issued a statement strongly criticizing the special prosecutor’s move.

“The special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant without meeting the legal requirements raises suspicion that this is not about uncovering the substantive truth, but rather a separate or irregular investigation aimed at showcasing investigative achievements for political purposes.” the statement reads. “We are deeply concerned that this may be an unjust attempt to disgrace and tarnish the reputation of a former president.”

The lawyers also denounced the public disclosure of the summons.

“To notify the media of the court’s rejection and the new summons date first is a petty move,” the statement continued. “Nonetheless, former President Yoon intends to comply with the summons in good faith.”

Cho had accused Yoon of abetting obstruction of official duties and abusing authority under the Presidential Security Act, based on claims that he interfered with the enforcement of an arrest warrant by police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Jan. 3. Park Ji-young, deputy special counsel, said Yoon had ignored three prior police summonses.

Yoon’s attorneys submitted an opinion to the court asserting that the special counsel’s reliance on police-stage summonses to justify a warrant was “legally flawed and procedurally invalid.”

Legal experts noted that the court’s explicit reference to Yoon’s stated cooperation with the investigation in its decision was unusual. One former warrant judge said, “Unlike regular prosecutions that can cite noncompliance with police investigations, special prosecutors must initiate their own summons procedures — which the court appears to have taken into account.”

A current senior prosecutor echoed that view. “I’ve never seen a warrant request filed without a prior [prosecutorial] summons,” the prosecutor said. “The special prosecutor may have moved too hastily.”

Despite the setback, Cho’s team maintained pressure by reimposing an overseas travel ban on the former president.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY NA UN-CHAE, KIM SEONG-JIN [[email protected]]