Seoul: A hearing on the legality of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest will be held later this week, a court said on Wednesday, as Yoon fights to regain his freedom a week after being placed in custody over his failed attempt to impose martial law.
The hearing has been scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Friday, the Seoul Central District Court said, shortly after Yoon’s lawyers said he had filed for a review of the legality of his arrest.
The petition was filed to point out the arrest was “illegal” and “unjust,” both substantively and procedurally, the lawyers said in a statement to the press.
By law, the court is required to question the defendant and study evidence within 48 hours after the request is filed before deciding on whether the arrest was legal and should remain in place.
Depending on the outcome, Yoon could be released from the Seoul Detention Centre, where he has been held since last Thursday after a court issued a warrant for his arrest over five key charges related to his martial law bid.
Yoon took similar steps in January after his first arrest, Yonhap news agency reported.
At the time, his detention was deemed legal, but a later request to cancel his arrest was accepted by the court, granting his release in March.
Earlier in the day, special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team was making a third attempt to bring in former President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his martial law bid, as two previous attempts failed due to his refusal to cooperate.
The team sent instructions the previous day to the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, just south of the capital, to bring Yoon to its interrogation room at the Seoul High Prosecutors Office on Wednesday.
Yoon has been held at the detention centre since his second arrest last Thursday over charges related to his attempt to impose martial law in December.
Earlier on Tuesday, a special counsel team made a second attempt to bring in former President Yoon Suk Yeol from his detention cell for questioning over his martial law bid.
The team led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk had asked the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, just south of the capital, to bring Yoon to its interrogation room by 2 p.m.
The former president had refused to comply with repeated summonses by the special counsel team since his second arrest last Thursday.
(INAS)
