Court orders release of South Korean president from custody

A South Korean court has ordered the release of ousted President Yoon Seok Yeol from custody. He is accused of sedition for imposing martial law on December 3, 2024.

This was reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap.

Yoon Seok Yeol was being held at the Uiwan detention center, south of Seoul, and was transferred there on January 15.

The Seoul Central District Court said it had granted the presidentʼs request for release. The indictment on charges of sedition, dated January 26, was filed late, meaning it was filed after the initial detention period had expired.

The court also sided with Yoon Seok Yeol, questioning the legality of the investigation by the Office of the Investigation of Corruption among High-ranking Officials, which believes that the alleged sedition case is beyond their jurisdiction.

The prosecutorʼs office insists that the indictment was filed within the established deadline. They argue that the Criminal Procedure Code defines deadlines in days, not hours or minutes, as the presidentʼs defense claims.

However, Yoon Seok Yeol will still have to stand trial. Sedition in the country carries a life sentence or the death penalty, but death sentences have not been carried out for years.

What preceded

South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeoldeclared martial law in the country on the night of December 3-4, 2024, to “protect the constitutional order” — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the government’s budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the attorney general.

In total, martial law lasted about six hours, but it caused a sharp internal crisis — now the president is being called to resign. On December 8, he was informed of suspicion of treason and abuse of power and banned from traveling abroad.

On December 14, 2024, the South Korean parliament approved a bill to impeach President Yoon Seok Yeol. The countryʼs acting president is currently being served by Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok.

There was an attempt to detain the president on January 3, 2025, but his security prevented this. On January 15, he was detained in a second attempt.

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