Supporters of suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol demonstrate outside the detention center where he is being held, in Uiwang, South Korea, January 17, 2025. LEE JIN-MAN / AP South Korean investigators Koreans who arrested, on Wednesday January 15, the suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, requested, on Friday, a new arrest warrant to extend his detention, a few hours before the expiry of the deadline for forty-eight hours to keep him in police custody. Investigators are trying to obtain a twenty-day extension of the head of state’s detention, time to be able to formalize an indictment against Mr. Yoon. “It is expected that the Corruption Investigation Bureau [CIO] requests an arrest warrant from the Seoul West District Court as the next step after the arrest warrant,” Mr. Yoon’s lawyers said on Friday. Serious political crisis The IOC summoned Mr. Yoon for questioning on Friday morning, the Yonhap news agency reported, but his lawyer Yoon Kab-keun told AFP that he had refused, for the second day of in a row, being questioned by investigators about his failed attempt to establish martial law. Mr. Yoon, who became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested, plunged the country into a serious political crisis by declaring martial law in early December to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces.” » and “eliminate elements hostile to the State”. Another lawyer for Mr. Yoon, Seok Dong-hyeon, told reporters that his client had “expressed his basic position sufficiently to investigators on the first day” and had no reason to answer their questions. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The South Korean president surrenders to avoid a “bloodbath” after a muscular intervention Read later Targeted by an investigation for “rebellion” Suspended by deputies and targeted by an investigation for “rebellion “, a crime punishable by death, the former star prosecutor was questioned for hours on Wednesday, but he exercised his right to remain silent, before refusing to appear for questioning on Thursday. Mr. Yoon declared on Wednesday that he had complied with the demands of investigators to avoid any “bloodshed”, but that he did not recognize the legality of the investigation. His party, the People Power Party, also claimed his arrest was illegal. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover The Democratic Party, the main opposition party, welcomed the detention of Mr. Yoon and a of its senior officials called it a “first step” towards the restoration of constitutional and legal order after weeks of unrest. The suspended leader, 64, tried to evade arrest for weeks by holed up in his residential compound, protected by members of the presidential security service who had remained loyal to him. On Thursday, around 100 supporters of the suspended president gathered in front of the IOC building to protest his detention and sing chants. As part of a parallel investigation, the Constitutional Court must decide whether or not to validate the impeachment motion against Mr. Yoon voted by Parliament. If he loses his title as president, new elections must be organized within sixty days. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The political crisis in South Korea, between polarization and outdated institutions Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2025-01-17 11:34:04
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