On March 7, a Seoul court granted the release of President Yoon Suk Yeol, immediately drawing contrasting reactions from political circles.
Yoon’s attorneys immediately welcomed the court’s decision, calling it proof that the “rule of law is alive” in the country.
![President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the 10th hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/0307-Yoon.jpg)
In a statement, Yoon’s legal defense team denounced the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO)’s “illegal” investigation and “unlawful” arrest. The attorneys called on authorities to “immediately order his release,” citing the Criminal Procedure Act.
Parties Clash Over Court’s Ruling
The presidential office also welcomed the decision, saying that the CIO’s “illegal” investigation — conducted without proper investigative authority — had been “belatedly corrected.”
In response, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) convened an emergency leadership meeting and urged prosecutors to “immediately appeal” Yoon’s release, calling him the “mastermind” of an insurrection.
DP spokesperson Han Min-soo told reporters after the meeting that the court’s ruling “would not affect” Yoon’s impeachment trial.
Following the court’s decision, Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) criticized the CIO for executing “unlawful” warrants to detain Yoon.
“CIO officials, including its chief, should all take responsibility,” PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said at a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Friday.
He also argued that prosecutors’ potential appeal against the ruling was “unconstitutional,” citing a 2012 decision that the prosecution cannot undo the revocation of a suspect’s arrest.
In response, the CIO said in a press release that the court had not deemed its investigation unlawful but had merely summarized the defendant’s claims.
Court Cites Prosecutorial Missteps
The Seoul Central District Court approved Yoon’s request, filed on Feb. 4, determining that prosecutors had indicted Yoon after his arrest period ended, as the duration should be calculated based on actual hours rather than full days.
Additionally, the court ruled that the 33 hours spent reviewing Yoon’s official arrest warrant should be excluded from the custody period. Prosecutors earlier argued that an additional 10 hours spent during the court’s review of the validity of his custody by the CIO should also be excluded.
The court reviewed the request to revoke Yoon’s arrest on Feb. 20. Yoon has been detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, since Jan. 15 over his brief imposition of martial law last December.
Yoon was taken into custody by CIO investigators at around 10:33 a.m. on Jan. 15. Under the law, he was required to be indicted within 10 days, by Jan. 24. Excluding the hours spent on the arrest warrant review, the valid arrest period would have lasted until 9:07 a.m. on Jan. 26.
However, Yoon was indicted at around 6:52 p.m. on Jan. 26, exceeding the legally permitted arrest period, according to the court.
Even aside from the timing issue, the court noted that the CIO did not have investigative authority over insurrection charges. It further noted the CIO and the state prosecution, which are two independent investigative bodies, split Yoon’s arrest period without legal grounds and failed to follow proper custody transfer procedures.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, prosecutors have seven days to appeal a court’s decision to revoke an arrest.
BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]
