A Seoul court slammed former President Yoon Suk Yeol with an arrest warrant Thursday over his bungled martial law attempt. Judge Nam Se-jin approved the request from special counsel Cho Eun-suk after fears grew that Yoon might destroy key evidence. The ex-president faces five serious charges that could land him behind bars for years. Yoon and his legal team showed up to fight the charges but got shot down before he was hauled off to Seoul Detention Center. The facility sits just south of the capital in Uiwang where he waits for the court's final decision.
The charges paint a picture of a president gone rogue during his December 3 martial law declaration. Prosecutors say Yoon violated cabinet members' rights by only calling select officials to a secret meeting before announcing martial law. They also claim he created a fake martial law document after the fact to make his actions look legal. The document allegedly got signatures from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before Yoon tossed it aside.
Other charges accuse Yoon of ordering false statements to foreign press and telling his security team to block investigators trying to arrest him in January. He also allegedly ordered the deletion of call records from secure phones used by three military commanders. The arrest marks the second time authorities have nabbed the former president, with his first detention happening in January while he still held office before his release in March.
The charges paint a picture of a president gone rogue during his December 3 martial law declaration. Prosecutors say Yoon violated cabinet members' rights by only calling select officials to a secret meeting before announcing martial law. They also claim he created a fake martial law document after the fact to make his actions look legal. The document allegedly got signatures from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before Yoon tossed it aside.
Other charges accuse Yoon of ordering false statements to foreign press and telling his security team to block investigators trying to arrest him in January. He also allegedly ordered the deletion of call records from secure phones used by three military commanders. The arrest marks the second time authorities have nabbed the former president, with his first detention happening in January while he still held office before his release in March.
