Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week.
After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building.
Photo: AFP
Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an “intolerable illegal and violent incident.”
The incident is the latest episode in South Korea’s spiraling political crisis since Dec. 3 last year, when Yoon declared martial law and dispatched troops to parliament.
His attempt to suspend civilian rule lasted just six hours after lawmakers defied soldiers to vote it down. They later impeached the president, suspending him from duty.
Yoon has vowed to “fight to the end” despite facing a South Korean Constitutional Court ruling on his impeachment and a criminal probe on insurrection charges that has seen him detained.
In announcing investigators could hold Yoon for a further 20 days, the Seoul court said there were concerns he could destroy evidence if released.
The president thanked his supporters — including evangelical Christians and right-wing YouTubers — for their “passionate patriotism” in a message through his lawyers on Friday.
His backers have claimed Yoon was justified in imposing martial law due to election fraud in legislative polls won last year by the opposition, for which they present no evidence.
They frequently wave US flags and have adopted the “stop the steal” rhetoric associated with US president-elect Donald Trump, whose supporters stormed Washington’s Capitol in 2021 to try to overturn his earlier election defeat.
After the Seoul court incident, acting police chief Lee Ho-young said the force would “thoroughly investigate right-wing YouTubers if they were involved in this violent break-in.”
Yoon’s lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon slammed the court decision, while also warning the president’s supporters not to escalate the situation.
“This is likely not what President Yoon desires,” he said in a statement, adding that violence could also “create burdens” for the president’s future trials.
Yoo Jung-hoon, a lawyer and political columnist, said attacking a court was “unprecedented” in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time.
The judge was expected to keep the president in prison “given the myriad evidence supporting the insurrection charges,” Yoo said.
“The court also placed significant weight on Yoon’s attempts to destroy evidence” as a head of state, he added.
With Yoon back behind bars after his court appearance on Saturday, prosecutors are due to formalize a criminal indictment for insurrection.
Yoon, who has refused to answer investigators’ questions, could be jailed for life or executed if found guilty.
Yoon has been absent from the parallel probe at the Constitutional Court, which is considering whether to uphold his impeachment.
If that court rules against him, Yoon would formally lose the presidency and elections would be called within 60 days.
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