South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from jail on Saturday, a day after a court’s ruling that allowed him to stand trial without physical detention over his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
Waving to his supporters, Yoon walked out of the Seoul Detention Center, 52 days after he was detained on charges of inciting an insurrection. However, impeachment and criminal trials against Yoon will continue.
“First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the judges of the (Seoul) Central District Court for their courage and determination in rectifying this injustice,” Yoon said before thanking his supporters.
Yoon, who was indicted on January 26, was released shortly after the country’s prosecutor general Shim Woo Jung decided not to appeal the court decision. He is still expected to stand trial over the charges.
The prosecution said in a statement that the Seoul Central District Court’s finding — that the indictment was filed after the expiration of the initial detention period — was “absolutely unacceptable”.
An anti-corruption body that led the investigation with police expressed regret that it was unable to seek a ruling from a higher court on issues such as the calculation of the detention period.
Yoon is also currently waiting for a Constitutional Court verdict on whether to impeach or reinstate him, which is widely expected next week.
The ruling People Power Party welcomed Yoon’s release and urged the Constitutional Court to take the court’s decision into consideration in the impeachment trial.
“It is a just decision and the party hopes it serves as an opportunity to correct the distorted rule of law,” party spokesperson Shin Dong-wook said in a statement.
In contrast, the main opposition Democratic Party strongly criticized the prosecution for exacerbating the nation’s crisis with Yoon’s release and called for the Constitutional Court to formally impeach him in its upcoming decision. (Yonhap)