Insurrection Special Prosecutor: "Yoon's Detention Warrant Executed at 3 a.m.… Notification Also Sent to Kim Keonhee"

Court: "Sufficient Grounds to Suspect Crimes Listed in Warrant... Concern Over Destruction of Evidence"
Special Prosecutor to Question Yoon on July 11... "Former President Status Considered, Otherwise Treated Like Other Suspects"

Former President Yoon Sukyeol is heading to Seoul Detention Center after completing the second pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on July 9, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps

On the morning of July 10, the special prosecutor's team investigating the insurrection, led by Cho Eunseok, took former President Yoon Sukyeol into custody and notified his spouse, Kim Keonhee, of Yoon's detention by mail.

Nam Sejin, the judge in charge of warrants at Seoul Central District Court, issued a detention warrant for former President Yoon at approximately 2:07 a.m., stating, "There is sufficient reason to suspect that the accused committed the crimes listed in the warrant, and there is concern about the destruction of evidence."

Special Prosecutor Park Jiyoung stated, "The detention warrant was executed at around 3 a.m. at Seoul Detention Center by correctional officers under the direction of the special prosecutor. We also notified Mrs. Kim and Yoon's legal counsel of the detention by mail."

Park added, "The investigation will, of course, take into account Yoon's status as a former president to the extent generally accepted by society. However, aside from that, he will not be treated differently from other suspects."

Since the trial on former President Yoon's insurrection charges is ongoing today, the special prosecutor's team will not conduct a summons investigation but plans to proceed with supplementary questioning starting July 11.

Additionally, the special prosecutor's team has launched an investigation into the leak of the detention warrant application for former President Yoon to the media by his legal team. The team is reviewing possible violations of the Personal Information Protection Act and is collecting relevant materials. In response to claims that the legal team providing the document to the press with Yoon's consent does not constitute an illegal act, the special prosecutor's team countered that the warrant includes statements from related parties and raised concerns about whether the legal team obtained consent for disclosure from those individuals.

The special prosecutor's team will first investigate only the criminal facts listed in the detention warrant within the maximum 20-day detention period, and then, depending on whether former President Yoon consents, will proceed with additional investigations into other charges.