Court Again Denies Extension of Yoon's Detention... People Power Party "Must Release" vs Democratic Party "Must Indict in Detention"

Court Again Denies Extension of Yoon's Detention on the 25th
People Power Party: "Investigation Must Proceed Lawfully Without Detention"
Democratic Party: "Overwhelming Evidence, Yoon Must Be Indicted Within the Detention Period"

The court's repeated refusal to approve the prosecution's request to extend the detention of President Yoon Seok-yeol drew contrasting reactions from the ruling and opposition parties. The People Power Party demanded the immediate release of President Yoon, while the Democratic Party emphasized that he must be indicted within the detention period.

On the 25th, the prosecution repeatedly applied to the court to extend President Yoon Seok-yeol's detention period, but the court denied the requests. Following the previous day's refusal by the warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court to extend President Yoon's detention, the duty judge also made the same decision.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the 4th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Shin Dong-wook, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, commented on this matter, stating, "We strongly urge the immediate release of the president and the resumption of a lawful investigation in a non-detained state in accordance with proper procedures." Shin added, "The prosecution plans to indict President Yoon tomorrow without conducting any significant investigation. If, during the trial after indictment, the court dismisses the charges due to illegal investigations by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the resulting backlash will be entirely the prosecution's responsibility." He continued, "The prosecution must immediately release President Yoon and subsequently conduct a 'strict lawful investigation' under 'proper procedures' without any controversy or flaws while he is not detained."

He also expressed "deep regret" over the prosecution's repeated applications for detention extension.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party insisted that indictment during detention is necessary. Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said, "Now the prosecution must indict the traitor Yoon Seok-yeol within the detention period." He expressed concerns about the prosecution's judgment. Cho stated, "From the beginning, the court only recognized the prosecution's authority to decide whether to indict, yet they insisted on reapplying for an extension. This cannot be seen as an appropriate decision." He added, "Despite President Yoon's refusal to cooperate with the investigation, there is overwhelming evidence of guilt. The prosecution, CIO, and police have secured substantial evidence while investigating and indicting those involved in the rebellion."

Cho further said, "Indicting the traitor aligns with the public's legal common sense, which is outraged by the rebellion, and also meets the people's will to promptly end the ongoing chaos caused by the rebellion." He urged, "Since the prosecution has stated it will not consider release, I hope they indict the traitor Yoon Seok-yeol within the detention period and bring him to justice."

In President Yoon's case, the CIO has not conducted substantial investigations since his arrest. Likewise, the prosecution has been unable to proceed with additional investigations due to the court's refusal to extend detention. The prosecution considers the detention period to last until the 27th, but the decision on indictment is expected to be made earlier, around the 26th. The court is reported to have judged that under the current legal system, the prosecution cannot conduct supplementary investigations. Laws such as the Act on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials do not recognize the prosecution's authority to conduct supplementary investigations.