Detention of accused President Yoon extended

A court in Seoul has extended the time that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will be detained for his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country last month.

Citing concerns that Yoon could destroy evidence if he is released, a judge on Sunday issued an order allowing investigators to keep the suspended president in custody for up to 20 days.

The 64-year-old was arrested Wednesday after a weeks-long standoff between investigators and his presidential security team.

The president’s supporters stormed the court after his detention was prolonged and reportedly broke windows and doors in an incident condemned by Yoon and the country’s acting president.

The court order – and Yoon’s subsequent refusal to comply with investigators – is the latest development in a saga that has left South Korea reeling from a political crisis.

The order was issued around 03:00 local time (18:00 GMT on Saturday).

The suspended president is being investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) on charges of insurrection over a botched Dec. 3 martial law order that plunged the country into turmoil.

He has been impeached by Parliament and suspended, but will only be removed from office if a constitutional court confirms the impeachment.

Investigators now have 20 days – including the four days Yoon already spent in custody following his arrest – to bring the president to trial.

After his detention was extended, Yoon’s lawyer, Yun Gap-geun, told Yonhap News Agency that the president would refuse to be questioned by the CIO.

Yoon’s supporters demonstrated outside the court before the decision, and many entered the building after the judges issued the extension.

Journalists at the scene reported seeing dozens of people arrested by police after the incident.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok expressed his “great regret” over the violence, “which is unimaginable in a democratic society,” adding that authorities will increase security at future appearances.

Choi recently took over the top job after South Korea’s parliament voted in favor. impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-sooover accusations of thwarting Yoon’s impeachment process.

Yoon was “shocked” by the scenes in court, his lawyer said, and asked his followers to express themselves peacefully, according to local media.

The incident is the latest episode in a series of attempts by Yoon’s supporters to thwart legal proceedings against the president.

The night before his arrest, hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters He camped in front of the president’s house and jostled with police officers who were trying to arrest him..

Similar scenes occurred during a previous arrest attempt on January 3, where Angry Yoon supporters hoping to stop the arrest demonstrated outside the president’s home..

South Korean police were forced to call off their first arrest attempt. after the president’s security team blocked the entrance to Yoon’s compound.

Public opinion has been divided after Yoon’s shocking martial law announcement last monthwhich he claimed was due to “anti-state forces” in South Korea’s parliament, while also mentioning North Korea.

But others have seen the move as an extreme reaction to the political deadlock that emerged after his party’s main opposition won in a landslide in April, as well as Yoon’s unpopularity after the scandal surrounding the First Lady.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the suspended president in the weeks since his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law.