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Court issues additional arrest warrant for ex-President Yoon

Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 20:06

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a court hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 26, 2025. [NEWS1]

A Seoul court issued an additional arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been indicted on charges of deploying drones to Pyongyang in an alleged attempt to provoke a military response from North Korea and use the situation as justification for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant late Friday, citing concerns over a risk of destruction of evidence. The ousted president was additionally indicted on charges including aiding the enemy and abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of rights.

Yoon is already under arrest on charges of leading an insurrection, but his current detention period is set to expire on Jan. 18. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, detention during a first trial is limited to a maximum of six months.

However, if a defendant is indicted on separate charges and the need for detention is recognized, the court may issue an additional arrest warrant following judicial review.

With the court’s decision to issue another warrant, Yoon’s detention period is expected to be extended by up to six more months.

He is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung on a drone infiltration over Pyongyang around October 2024. Prosecutors allege the move was intended to heighten inter-Korean military tensions and create grounds for declaring martial law.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 9, 2025, after attending a pretrial detention hearing. [YONHAP]

The special counsel team investigating the alleged insurrection, led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, indicted Yoon on Nov. 10 of last year and requested that the court issue an additional arrest warrant at that time.

Yoon was first arrested and indicted on Jan. 26 last year on charges of leading an insurrection, but he was released on March 8 after the court approved a request to cancel his detention. He was re-arrested by the special counsel team in July and formally indicted again on July 19.

At that time, Yoon was charged with mobilizing the Presidential Security Service to block the execution of an arrest warrant issued by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during his trial on insurrection charges at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 24, 2025. [YONHAP]

He was also accused of obstructing other Cabinet members’ constitutional right to deliberate on martial law by convening a meeting attended by only select ministers prior to the declaration. These charges include obstruction of the execution of official duties and abuse of power to obstruct the rights of another.

Yoon’s trial on charges of leading an insurrection is currently being heard by the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 25, presided over by Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon.

His trial on charges including obstruction of the execution of official duties is being handled by Criminal Division 35, led by Chief Judge Baek Dae-hyun. A verdict in the obstruction case is scheduled to be delivered on Jan. 16.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]