A court issued an additional arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was additionally indicted on charges of sending drones into Pyongyang, North Korea, to create grounds for the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
The Criminal Agreement Division 36 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, senior judge) issued an arrest warrant on the 2nd in connection with charges against the former president including general assistance to the enemy and abuse of power by interfering with the exercise of rights. The reason was "concerns about destruction of evidence."
The special counsel investigating the insurrection case determined that the former president and others ordered drone incursions with the intent to create conditions for martial law beyond a simple military operation, and that a drone actually crashed in Pyongyang, causing military harm.
The court held a pre-arrest interrogation on the 23rd and, after hearing opinions from the special counsel and the former president's side, is said to have recognized the need for detention. As a result, the former president's detention period is expected to be extended by up to six months.
On the special counsel's side, a total of six people, including Special Assistant Prosecutor Park Eok-su and Director General Prosecutor Park Hyang-cheol, attended and said, "Given the nature of a covert, irregular military operation, there is a strong likelihood of destruction of evidence, including concerns about coordinating testimony, and there has been no change in circumstances since detention in a separate case due to concerns about destruction of evidence," adding, "Considering the attitude in court of shifting responsibility to subordinates, the need for detention has rather increased."
By contrast, the former president's side argued that "with many trials underway, if tried while in custody, there would be no time to meet with counsel and receive assistance."
According to the defense team, in a direct statement the former president referred to a call with President Donald Trump in December last year immediately after Trump's election, saying, "President Trump brought up the poop balloon issue first and said Korea's policy line is strategic patience," and argued, "The main duty of a president is to prevent war, so indicting for general assistance to the enemy is absurd."
The former president was detained in July last year on charges including charges of obstructing special official duties, and the detention period was set to expire on Jan. 18. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the maximum first-instance detention period is six months, but if there is an additional indictment in another case or on other charges and the need for detention is recognized, the court may issue an additional arrest warrant after review.
The court previously issued additional arrest warrants on charges of general assistance to the enemy for former Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Commander Yeo In-hyeong, whose detention periods were nearing expiration.
Under the Criminal Act, the crime of general assistance to the enemy in foreign exchange offenses is punishable by life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least three years for "acts that harm Korea's military interests or provide military benefits to an enemy state."