1 of 4 | South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol gets out of the Presidential Security Service vehicle as he arrives in front his official residence after being released from detention, in Seoul on Saturday. Photo by EPA/EFE/Yonhap
March 8 (UPI) — Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from jail Saturday, one day after a court ruled that his confinement was illegal and he would stand trial without physical detention over his unsuccessful bid to impose martial law in December.
Yoon, 52, left Seoul Detention Center at 5:48 p.m. — 52 days after he was detained on charges of inciting an insurrection, Yonhap News Agency reported. Supporters gathered outside the jail and at his residence.
Yoon, who was elected in 2022, is the first sitting president of the republic to be indicted on criminal charges.
A Constitutional Court next week is likely to decide whether to impeach or reinstate him, Koyodo News reported. His impeachment is separate from the criminal charges.
The Seoul Central District Court said the decision was to “ensure procedural clarity and eliminate doubts regarding the legality of the investigation process,” after ruling the warrant to extend Yoon’s detention beyond the maximum 48-hour period had been filed too late.
Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung decided not to appeal the court’s ruling to release the suspended president hours before his release.
Yoon’s legal team accused the prosecution of delaying Yoon’s release.
“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 urged the Constitutional Court to take the court’s decision into consideration in the trial and the main opposition Democratic Party called for the Constitutional Court to formally impeach him in its upcoming decision.
About 600 supporters shouted “Yoon Suk Yeol” with claps and cheers as he walked out of the jail.
Yoon walked toward the main gate, waved his hand and clenched his fist. He bowed twice to express his gratitude.
Dressed in a dark navy suit, Yoon got into the vehicle and headed to his official residence in central Seoul.
Upon arriving at the residence, Yoon bowed to supporters chanting his name.
Approximately 2,000 people had gathered in front of the official residence, according to police.
Yoon had dinner with first lady Kim Keon Hee and his senior aides, according to a presidential official.
“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.
Yoon allegedly hatched a conspiracy with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to incite an insurrection on Dec. 3 through the declaration of an unconstitutional and unlawful state of emergency.
Declaring a state of emergency is legal only in imminent war, armed conflict or a comparable national crisis.
Insurrection is one of the few exceptions for presidents’ immunity from prosecution.
The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Dec. 14.
He was arrested Jan. 15 and went to jail after a standoff with his security detail and hundreds of protestors forced authorities to abandon an earlier attempt to take him into custody.
He was indicted on Jan. 26.