Ex-President Yoon faces full weight of Korean justice after second arrest over thwarted martial law bid

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Ex-President Yoon faces full weight of Korean justice after second arrest over thwarted martial law bid

Published: 15 Jul. 2025, 18:18 Updated: 15 Jul. 2025, 18:45

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 9 for his arrest warrant review hearing. [NEWS1]

[EXPLAINER]

For the second time in six months, former President Yoon Suk Yeol finds himself under arrest at the Seoul Detention Center on charges tied to his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year.

On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court approved a warrant for Yoon’s arrest, requested by the special counsel team that is investigating allegations that Yoon attempted to subvert the country’s constitutional order by invoking martial law — a decree that lasted only hours but sent shock waves through Korean politics.

The former president, who has defended the order as a necessary measure to combat what he described as “anti-state forces” led by the Democratic Party (DP), is now expected to face criminal proceedings while behind bars.

Yoon’s martial law order was swiftly overturned by lawmakers from the DP and other minor parties, who managed to hold a vote overturning the decree at the National Assembly despite attempts by military and police forces to prevent a quorum.

The court’s decision to approve the latest arrest warrant marks a significant escalation in efforts by the DP-led government and legislature to hold Yoon accountable for what they view as an existential plot against Korean democracy.

What happened during Yoon’s initial arrest?

Yoon was first detained by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on Jan. 15, just over a month after the DP-controlled Assembly voted to impeach him over his declaration of martial law.

The CIO’s efforts to take Yoon into custody were fraught with drama. During their first attempt to apprehend the suspended president at his official residence on Jan. 3, CIO investigators were blocked by soldiers from the Capital Defense Command, deployed by the Presidential Security Service (PSS).

Military personnel block investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials from approaching the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, during the agency's first attempt to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

Twelve days later, the CIO succeeded in taking Yoon into custody after threatening to detain PSS officials if they interfered again. But the impeached president refused to cooperate with questioning by the CIO, arguing the agency lacked the authority to investigate allegations of sedition.

Frustrated by Yoon’s intransigence, the CIO handed the case to public prosecutors, who obtained an arrest warrant against him on charges of masterminding an insurrection from the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 19. Shortly thereafter, the courthouse was ransacked by Yoon’s angry supporters.

While the warrant gave prosecutors a week to indict Yoon if they wanted to keep him in custody during his trial, they filed their indictment the evening of Jan. 26, which Yoon’s legal team argued was after his legal detention period had lapsed. Controversially, the Seoul Central District Court agreed and ordered his release on March 8. By that evening, Yoon was greeting jubilant supporters outside his residence, raising his fists in triumph.

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol makes a triumphant fist gesture toward his supporters as he leaves the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on March 8. [YONHAP]

His release rocked the DP, which accused the prosecution — formerly led by Yoon — of deliberately botching the indictment process so that he could remain out of jail while being tried for sedition. It also stoked fears that the procedural error might jeopardize his impeachment.

But those concerns proved unfounded. On April 4, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled to uphold his impeachment, removing him from office.

Why is there a special counsel probe?

Although Yoon is no longer president, he is still being prosecuted because the Constitutional Court only settled the matter of his impeachment, and not the issue of his criminal liability.

The political landscape shifted decisively against him in June, when former DP leader Lee Jae Myung won the presidency. With both the executive and legislative branches under its control, the DP has moved quickly to intensify scrutiny of the former president’s actions.

Just two days after Lee’s inauguration, the Assembly passed a bill authorizing a special counsel probe into Yoon’s martial law bid — one of three such investigations duly approved by the new president.

The other two probes focus on alleged financial crimes involving Yoon’s wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and accusations that the Yoon administration interfered in a military inquest into the drowning of a Marine corporal during flood rescue operations in 2023.

Earlier versions of the special counsel bills were rejected nine times by Yoon and the acting presidents who took over after his impeachment.

More than 120 prosecutors are expected to participate in the three investigations. At least half are devoted to the martial law probe alone, which is led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk.

In addition to the charges prosecutors laid against Yoon in January, the special counsel team is tasked with examining additional allegations, including whether the former president conspired with military commanders to provoke an attack by North Korea that could justify the use of emergency powers.

The martial law probe is also investigating claims that senior figures in the conservative People Power Party (PPP), including former floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, attempted to prevent the Assembly from reaching a quorum on the night Yoon declared martial law by diverting lawmakers to an emergency party meeting instead of the main parliamentary chamber.

What charges does Yoon face?

In their latest arrest warrant, the special counsel team laid new accusations against Yoon, including abuse of power, obstruction of official duties and destruction of public records.

Prosecutors allege that Yoon bypassed the legal procedure for declaring martial law by failing to convene a proper Cabinet meeting and later fabricating documents to legitimize his actions. He is also accused of directing the PSS to erase records from encrypted communication devices — so-called secret phones — allegedly used by top military officers during the operation.

Further charges include allegations that Yoon ordered PSS officials to obstruct the CIO’s arrest attempt in January and to intimidate the agency’s officials by having soldiers show their firearms.

Yoon’s lawyers have characterized the special counsel’s investigation as an act of political retribution by the newly empowered DP.

What charges does his wife Kim Keon Hee face?

Long dogged by allegations of academic and financial misconduct, former first lady Kim has faced additional scrutiny since before her husband assumed office in May 2022.

Suspicions concerning her intensified after a video surfaced showing her accepting a Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor, leading the DP to accuse her of corruption.

Kim Keon Hee, wife of Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, waits in line to vote at a voting booth in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on June 3. [NEWS1]

The separate probe into Kim’s conduct centers on accusations that she received luxury gifts from an official affiliated with the Unification Church in exchange for business favors.

Investigators are also examining her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme, as well as her purported interference in PPP candidate nominations ahead of last year’s general election.

While in office, Yoon consistently rejected calls for an investigation into his wife, dismissing the allegations as politically motivated attacks by the DP.

What potential consequences does Yoon face?

An initial court ruling may still be months away, but Yoon is already feeling the weight of the charges against him.

At the Seoul Detention Center, he is required to wear a light-green prison uniform and respond to his assigned serial number. Most of his time is spent alone in a cell equipped with a television, toilet, wash basin, table and mattress. His daily routine is tightly regulated — he must wake, sleep, eat and shower at specific times.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol enters a vehicle bound for the Seoul Detention Center after the conclusion of his arrest warrant review hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 9. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

He may not be going anywhere else soon. His arrest could mark the beginning of a prolonged detention, potentially lasting for months. Prosecutors can hold him for up to 20 days while they pursue additional charges — some of which carry the most serious penalties under Korean law.

Under Article 87 of the Criminal Code, individuals convicted of organizing or directing such an uprising may be sentenced to life imprisonment or even death, though Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.

Treason and sedition are also among the few crimes for which presidential immunity does not apply. In Yoon’s case, prosecutors have argued that his declaration of martial law amounted to an attempted insurrection, as it involved mobilizing military and police forces to prevent the National Assembly from challenging his actions.

The other charges he faces, such as abuse of power, individually carry sentences ranging from several months to up to 10 years each, and could lengthen his prison sentence if he is convicted on multiple counts.

A conviction could also strip Yoon of his post-presidency privileges, such as his government pension, staff and personal security detail. Individuals convicted of serious crimes also lose eligibility to run for office.

The charges against Yoon thus carry even graver consequences than those meted out to his predecessors, such as former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and imprisoned on corruption charges in 2017.

With a DP-led government now firmly in control and supportive of efforts to prosecute Yoon, the former president could face the full weight of the Korean criminal justice system he once enforced.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]