Criticism Within Court and Prosecution Over 'Yoon's Detention Cancellation'... "Unacceptable"

Sitting Chief Judge: "It is preferable to maintain existing precedents"
Current Prosecutor: "Information on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's decision-making should be provided accurately and thoroughly"

The Seoul Central District Court's decision to cancel the detention of President Yoon Seok-yeol has sparked controversy within the legal community. Criticism of the court's decision to cancel President Yoon's detention has been posted online. Within the prosecution, there have been reactions expressing disbelief that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office did not file an 'immediate appeal' and instead directed the release.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong

According to the legal community on the 10th, Busan District Court Chief Judge Kim Do-gyun posted a message titled "Regret over Detention Cancellation" on the court's internal network (CourtNet) around 10 a.m., stating, "This decision carries many legal and institutional problems," and added, "It is preferable to maintain the existing precedents." Chief Judge Kim said, "Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the detention period for a prosecutor is set as 10 days, that is, by calendar days, not by hours, i.e., 240 hours." This implies that when calculating the number of days of detention affected by a review of detention appropriateness, it is appropriate to use calendar days as the standard according to the Criminal Procedure Act.

Chief Judge Kim criticized, "This decision should have been canceled through the immediate appeal procedure, which would have resolved procedural confusion. However, for some reason, the prosecution did not even file an immediate appeal despite this issue having very significant implications in criminal procedures and considerable legal controversy."

Within the prosecution, there were also reactions questioning the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's decision to forgo an immediate appeal regarding President Yoon, requesting that the reasons and grounds be disclosed. Prosecutor Park Cheol-wan of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office (27th Judicial Research and Training Institute class) posted a message titled "Curious about the reasons for detention cancellation, etc." on the prosecution's internal network 'Epross' on the evening of the 9th, stating, "Those who have the reasons and grounds for directing the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to forgo an immediate appeal should share them with their colleagues (prosecutors)." He also demanded the full text of the court's detention cancellation decision and the reasons and grounds why the Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH) of the prosecution insisted on filing an immediate appeal be disclosed.

Prosecutor Park commented in a reply, "Most people can easily recall the arguments supporting 'an immediate appeal should be filed,'" but added, "It is not easy to recall the arguments supporting the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's position to forgo an immediate appeal." He continued, "Among the arguments partially introduced in the media, some are difficult to accept, such as those involving constitutional controversy," and said, "It is hard to understand that the officials responsible for executing the procedures would refrain from using them out of concern for constitutional controversy when the procedures are stipulated by statutory law."