South Korea’s ex-President Yoon re-arrested over martial law decree

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was taken back into custody early Thursday over his short-lived martial law declaration last December, as a local court approved a second arrest warrant citing concerns he may tamper with evidence.

The Seoul Central District Court's decision has sent Yoon to a detention facility near Seoul, marking his return to confinement just four months after he was released following a prior arrest in January on rebellion charges.

That earlier detention was overturned by the same court in March, which allowed Yoon to face trial without going to jail.

The latest move follows a renewed push by a team of investigators led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk, who questioned Yoon twice before filing for the new warrant on Sunday.

Prosecutors are seeking to broaden the case to include additional charges such as obstruction of official duties, abuse of power and document forgery tied to his efforts to impose emergency rule.

Investigators also allege that Yoon sidestepped required legal procedures by failing to convene a formal Cabinet meeting before the declaration, and that he mobilized presidential security units to block law enforcement from detaining him in early January.

Should Yoon be formally indicted on the new charges, he could remain behind bars for up to six months while awaiting trial. If found guilty, he would begin serving his sentence even as the case moves through the appeals process.

Yoon, who was ousted from office in April after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, has defended the martial law order issued on Dec. 3, saying it was a necessary measure to counteract what he described as a legislative power grab by “anti-state” liberal lawmakers.

But the declaration was annulled within hours, after lawmakers broke through a military blockade at the National Assembly and quickly voted to repeal it.

He was impeached on Dec. 14, and prosecutors charged him the following month with attempting to stage a rebellion by illegally seizing control of parliament and electoral bodies.

If convicted, those charges carry sentences ranging from life in prison to the death penalty under Korean law.

President Lee Jae-myung, Yoon’s political rival who won a snap election in early June following the impeachment fallout, has since signed off on expanded investigations into Yoon’s martial law attempt and other alleged wrongdoing involving his administration and his wife's actions.

Write to Sookyung Seo at skseo@hankyung.com

Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.