Court hearing on potential arrest warrant for Yoon ends after 5 hours

The van carrying impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul after attending an arrest warrant hearing, Jan. 18. Joint Press Corps

A court hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law ended Saturday after five hours.

The hearing at the Seoul Western District Court ran from 2 p.m. until 6:50 p.m., with Yoon in attendance. He then returned to the detention center where he has been held since Wednesday to await the court's decision.

"The president faithfully explained and responded regarding the facts, evidence and legal issues," his lawyer, Yun Gap-geun, told reporters outside the court. "We will wait quietly until the court's decision comes out."

The court is expected to issue or reject the warrant for his formal arrest late Saturday or early Sunday.

Earlier, Seok Dong-hyeon, one of Yoon's lawyers, said prosecutors from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) presented their case for his arrest and the lawyers followed with PowerPoint presentations on their counterarguments.

Yoon, dressed in a suit, also spoke for 40 minutes. In his final statement, he spoke for another 5 minutes before the hearing ended.

The impeached president has been in custody since his arrest Wednesday at his residence on charges of masterminding an insurrection and abuse of power, making him the first sitting Korean president to be apprehended.

Yoon was transported to the court from a detention center in Uiwang, about 20 kilometers south of Seoul, in a blue van escorted by police and the Presidential Security Service.

The convoy bypassed the designated photo area for the media and entered the court building directly, while thousands of supporters gathered nearby, waving Korean and U.S. flags and chanting Yoon's name in a display of solidarity.

Yoon chose to attend the court hearing to explain the legitimacy of the martial law imposition and restore his tarnished reputation, his lawyer Yun said in a message sent to reporters.

Since his detention, Yoon has refused to appear for questioning over his martial law bid. The declaration, made on Dec. 3, shocked the nation and plunged Korea into its worst political crisis in decades. However, the martial law lasted only a few hours before lawmakers voted to lift the measure.

His lawyers have said the martial law bid was an act of governance and cannot be subject to a court judgment as it was implemented to overcome a national crisis caused by the opposition-led impeachments of Cabinet members, gridlock in legislation and unilateral budget reduction.

Yoon's presidential powers were suspended after the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him Dec. 14.

On Wednesday, Yoon's legal team requested the Seoul Central District Court to decide on the legality of the detention warrant for Yoon issued by the Western District Court.

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol is taken to the Seoul Detention Center after being questioned over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, Jan. 15. Yonhap

But the central court dismissed the challenge the following day, keeping him in custody.

Despite the ruling, Yoon's legal team is expected to maintain its argument that the CIO has no legal authority to investigate insurrection charges and that the western court does not have proper jurisdiction over the martial law case.

If court officials issue the warrant, Yoon will become the first sitting president in Korea's constitutional history to be formally arrested.

Yoon's formal arrest will allow investigators to extend his detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to prosecutors for an indictment.

If rejected, the embattled president will be released and return to his residence, helping bolster his claims that the ongoing investigations into his martial law decree and impeachment are unfounded.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is deliberating whether to remove Yoon from office by upholding the parliament's impeachment decision or reinstate him. (Yonhap)