Impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol left a detention centre in Seoul on Saturday, after prosecutors decided not to appeal a court decision to cancel the arrest warrant of the impeached leader.
His supporters cheered as the suspended president walked past, an AFP reporter saw, before getting into a convoy of vehicles.
“I bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation,” Yoon said in a statement released through his lawyers.
Yoon remains suspended from his duties and under insurrection charges over his short-lived martial law imposition on December 3. The criminal case is separate from his impeachment trial, in which the Constitutional Court is expected to decide in coming days whether to reinstate him or remove him from office.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
The Seoul Central District Court cancelled Yoon’s arrest warrant on Friday, citing the timing of his indictment and “questions about the legality” of the investigation process.
Yoon, the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office, has been in custody since January 15.
On Saturday, Some 38,000 Yoon supporters rallied in Seoul, while 1,500 people demonstrated against him, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unofficial police estimates.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
Leave a Comment