On the 18th, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's application for a detention validity review, determining the detention measures to be appropriate. Yoon Suk-yeol will continue to be held in custody while under investigation.
The detention validity review is a legal procedure in which the court examines the legality and necessity of a suspect's detention. On the 16th of this month, Yoon Suk-yeol’s legal team filed an application for a detention validity review with the Seoul Central District Court, citing “improper detention” and arguing that the arrest of Yoon Suk-yeol was unlawful both in terms of law and procedure. They also stated that Yoon Suk-yeol has been living in a space of about 5 square meters since his detention, and that he “has developed severe physical abnormalities,” making it impossible for him to attend court hearings or investigations by the special prosecutor team.
The court stated, based on results from interrogations and the case materials, that the application was entirely without basis, and therefore decided to dismiss it.
On the 6th of this month, the special prosecutor team investigating the emergency martial law incident requested the court to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol on suspicion of abuse of power and other charges. On the 10th, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant.
According to analysis by Yonhap News Agency, although Yoon Suk-yeol will remain in custody, he is not expected to cooperate with the special prosecutor’s investigation. The special prosecutor team may attempt again to compel Yoon Suk-yeol to appear. If forced measures fail again, the team is likely to file charges within the detention period.