On July 6, the special prosecutor team led by Cho Eunseok, which is investigating the rebellion and treason cases related to the '12·3 Martial Law', requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Seokyeol.
Park Jiyoung, deputy special prosecutor, announced during a briefing that "the special prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon at the Seoul Central District Court at 5:20 p.m. today."
Deputy Special Prosecutor Park stated, "Because the detention hearing must be held in court, it is not appropriate to comment at this stage," adding, "We plan to fully explain our position during the court proceedings."
Former President Yoon faces charges including obstruction of special official duties, violation of the Presidential Security Act, abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights, and falsification of official documents. The special prosecutor team only disclosed the main charges applied, considering the upcoming pretrial detention hearing at the court. The length and specific grounds of the arrest warrant request were not made public.
The special prosecutor team is believed to have determined that, despite the seriousness of the charges against former President Yoon, there is a risk of evidence destruction, such as collusion with accomplices, since he has completely denied the allegations during two face-to-face interrogations.
Former President Yoon Seokyeol is attending the 9th trial session for charges of leading a rebellion and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on July 3, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Former President Yoon is accused of mobilizing the Presidential Security Service to block the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on January 3 of this year. He is also accused of instructing the security service on December 7 of last year-four days after the martial law declaration-to delete information related to secure phones used by former Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jonggeun, former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jinwoo, and former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong.
These two charges were previously specified in the arrest warrant that was requested and dismissed on June 24, when the special prosecutor team sought to question former President Yoon in person. In addition, the special prosecutor team has now applied an additional charge, alleging that former President Yoon interfered with the exercise of deliberation rights of cabinet members, such as Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Jooho, by convening only certain cabinet members to meet the quorum (11 members) at the cabinet meeting held just before the martial law declaration, thereby preventing others from being notified.
He has also been charged with drafting a false martial law declaration to remedy legal flaws in the original declaration.
The special prosecutor team confirmed that Kang Uigu, former secretary to the president, printed a post-facto martial law declaration on December 5 of last year and obtained signatures from former President Yoon, former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo, and former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun. This document was later destroyed at the request of former Prime Minister Han, who was concerned it could become problematic in the future.
The charge of treason, specifically the allegation that former President Yoon ordered the military's Drone Operations Command to deploy drones over Pyongyang to justify the martial law declaration, was not included in this arrest warrant. Deputy Special Prosecutor Park explained, "The treason investigation is still ongoing, and there remains a significant amount of work to be done, so it was not included among the criminal charges."
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is attending the 9th trial for charges of leading a rebellion and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on July 3, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps
If the court, after reviewing the necessity of detention, issues the warrant, former President Yoon will be detained again just four months after his release on March 8, when the court canceled his previous detention. As former President Yoon is currently a suspect not under arrest, the pretrial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court is expected to take place around July 8 or 9.
Meanwhile, former President Yoon's side strongly objected to the special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant, calling it "excessive." In a statement, his legal team argued, "We have thoroughly explained the facts of the case, and it has been demonstrated that the alleged crimes cannot be established under the law."
The legal team added, "No objective evidence has been presented during the special prosecutor's investigation, and even based on the statements of those involved, the alleged crimes are not established. We will prove in court that the special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant is excessive."
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