Seoul: Hundreds of supporters cheered as impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from jail on Saturday, a day after a court cancelled his arrest and allowed him to stand trial without detention over his failed martial law bid.
With Yoon walking out of the Seoul Detention Centre as of 5:48 p.m., about 600 supporters shouted “Yoon Suk Yeol” with claps.
After stepping out of a security vehicle, Yoon walked toward the main gate, waved his hand and clenched his fist in response to the cheers of supporters. He bowed twice to express his gratitude.
Dressed in a dark navy suit, Yoon smiled and thanked his supporters before getting into the vehicle and heading to his official residence in central Seoul.
Upon arriving at the residence at 6:16 p.m., Yoon stepped out of the vehicle again to bow to supporters, who chanted his name.
According to police, approximately 2,000 people had gathered in front of the official residence, Yonhap news agency reported.
At the residence, Yoon had dinner with first lady Kim Keon Hee and his senior aides, according to a presidential official.
On Friday, the court said it approved Yoon’s request after determining that his January 26 indictment on insurrection charges, which allowed his detention to be extended, had come hours after the initial detention period had already expired.
The 10-day initial detention period excludes the time documents were sent to a court for a review of whether to issue an arrest warrant, pushing back the deadline of Yoon’s detention to around 9 a.m. January 26, whereas the prosecution indicted him shortly before 7 p.m. that day, according to the court.
Yoon’s legal team accused the prosecution of delaying Yoon’s release, which came 27 hours after the court’s decision.
“The president’s release is not just about addressing an individual’s injustice, but the beginning of a difficult journey to restore the collapsed rule of law in this country,” the team said in a release.
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 criticised 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.
The top court is expected to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him later this month after wrapping up hearings on February 25.
(IANS)
