Prosecution Chooses Not to Appeal: Impeached ROK President Released
Impeached former president of South Korea released as the prosecution opts against filing an appeal.
TroibNews 
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was released on Saturday after the prosecution chose not to contest a court's decision permitting his release.
Television footage showed Yoon exiting a black vehicle and leaving the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, located approximately 20 kilometers south of Seoul. He greeted supporters along the road with waves and bows.
Upon his arrival at the presidential residence in central Seoul, he stepped out of the vehicle once more to shake hands with his supporters.
In a statement, Yoon expressed gratitude for the court's decision, the backing of the public despite the chilly weather, and the leadership of the ruling People Power Party.
The Seoul Central District Court had granted approval for Yoon's release on Friday, agreeing to his legal team's request to cancel his detention, which had been submitted on February 4.
His attorneys commented that the court's ruling "confirmed that the president's detainment was problematic in both procedural and substantive aspects," describing the decision as the "beginning of a journey to restore rule of law."
On Saturday, approximately 55,000 supporters of Yoon gathered in major districts of Seoul, while around 32,500 demonstrators opposed him near the Constitutional Court, according to unofficial estimates reported by Yonhap news agency.
Yoon was detained at the presidential office on January 15 and was indicted while in custody on January 26 on allegations of being the ringleader of an insurrection, marking him as the first sitting president to face arrest and prosecution in the country.
In the late afternoon of January 26 at 6:52 p.m. local time, prosecutors leveled the accusations against Yoon, but the Seoul Central District Court determined that his arrest period had ended at 9:07 a.m. on the same day.
The special investigative unit assigned to Yoon's insurrection case intended to appeal the court's judgment from Friday, but the nation's prosecutor general instructed the unit to comply with the court's ruling, as reported by local media.
Yoon had declared emergency martial law on the night of December 3 of the previous year, but the opposition-dominated National Assembly rescinded it shortly afterward.
A motion to impeach Yoon received approval in the National Assembly on December 14, and since then, the constitutional court has conducted 11 hearings regarding his impeachment, with a final verdict anticipated next week.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
Television footage showed Yoon exiting a black vehicle and leaving the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, located approximately 20 kilometers south of Seoul. He greeted supporters along the road with waves and bows.
Upon his arrival at the presidential residence in central Seoul, he stepped out of the vehicle once more to shake hands with his supporters.
In a statement, Yoon expressed gratitude for the court's decision, the backing of the public despite the chilly weather, and the leadership of the ruling People Power Party.
The Seoul Central District Court had granted approval for Yoon's release on Friday, agreeing to his legal team's request to cancel his detention, which had been submitted on February 4.
His attorneys commented that the court's ruling "confirmed that the president's detainment was problematic in both procedural and substantive aspects," describing the decision as the "beginning of a journey to restore rule of law."
On Saturday, approximately 55,000 supporters of Yoon gathered in major districts of Seoul, while around 32,500 demonstrators opposed him near the Constitutional Court, according to unofficial estimates reported by Yonhap news agency.
Yoon was detained at the presidential office on January 15 and was indicted while in custody on January 26 on allegations of being the ringleader of an insurrection, marking him as the first sitting president to face arrest and prosecution in the country.
In the late afternoon of January 26 at 6:52 p.m. local time, prosecutors leveled the accusations against Yoon, but the Seoul Central District Court determined that his arrest period had ended at 9:07 a.m. on the same day.
The special investigative unit assigned to Yoon's insurrection case intended to appeal the court's judgment from Friday, but the nation's prosecutor general instructed the unit to comply with the court's ruling, as reported by local media.
Yoon had declared emergency martial law on the night of December 3 of the previous year, but the opposition-dominated National Assembly rescinded it shortly afterward.
A motion to impeach Yoon received approval in the National Assembly on December 14, and since then, the constitutional court has conducted 11 hearings regarding his impeachment, with a final verdict anticipated next week.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
