By Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a court docket listening to on Saturday to struggle a request by investigators to increase his detention on accusations of revolt, his lawyer mentioned.
Yoon on Wednesday turned the nation’s first sitting president to be arrested, in a prison probe associated to his short-lived declaration of martial regulation on Dec. 3.
Investigators requested a detention warrant on Friday to increase their custody of Yoon for as much as 20 days. He has been refusing to speak to investigators and has been held in Seoul Detention Centre since his arrest.
Police have been seen breaking apart a crowd of Yoon’s supporters blocking the gate of Seoul Western District Court docket, the place the listening to started at round 2 p.m. (0500 GMT). A call is anticipated on Saturday or Sunday.
TV channels confirmed a convoy of round a dozen vehicles and police motorbikes escorting Yoon from the detention centre to the court docket.
“He decided to attend … to restore his honour by directly explaining the legitimacy of emergency martial law and that insurrection is not established,” Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, mentioned in a press release.
Revolt, the crime alleged in opposition to Yoon by the Corruption Investigation Workplace for Excessive-ranking Officers, is without doubt one of the few that an incumbent South Korean president doesn’t have immunity from.
Detention warrant hearings often final about two hours in South Korea however can final eight to 10 hours if arguments warmth up.
