Former President Yoon Suk-yeol was re-arrested on the 10th on charges including abuse of power. This is the second time he has been arrested related to the 12.3 emergency martial law. Former President Yoon was previously arrested on January 19 on charges of being the mastermind behind a rebellion and was released on March 8 after the court canceled his arrest warrant; he was re-arrested four months later.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is under investigation by the special prosecutor related to the declaration of martial law on December 3, moves to the Seoul Detention Center after finishing the second pre-arrest interrogation at the Seoul Central District Court on the night of the 9th. /Courtesy of News1

At around 2:07 a.m. that day, Director General Nam Se-jin of the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon. Director General Nam stated that the reason for issuing the warrant was "the concern of evidence destruction." Prior to this, from 2:15 p.m. to 9:01 p.m. on the 9th, a pre-arrest interrogation was conducted, concluding after five hours.

After the arrest examination, former President Yoon was awaiting procedures at the Seoul Detention Center. With the issuance of the arrest warrant, he is expected to undergo the booking process immediately. Former President Yoon will be subjected to an investigation by the special prosecutor team while detained for a maximum of 20 days. The special prosecutor team is expected to focus on investigations into foreign exchange charges for allegedly instructing the dispatch of drones to North Korea to create a justification for the declaration of martial law.

Previously, the special investigation team for rebellion requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon on the 6th on charges of abuse of power, writing false public documents, and obstructing the execution of special public duties. It has been reported that the 66-page warrant application includes allegations against President Yoon regarding instructions to prevent arrest by the National Security Office, orders to delete encrypted phone records, obstruction of rights for cabinet members who could not attend the cabinet meeting, and writing and disposing of a post-martial law proclamation.

In the warrant examination, 10 individuals participated in the hearing from the special prosecutor team, including Special Prosecutor Park Eok-soo and Directors General Kim Jeong-guk and Cho Jae-cheol. Seven attorneys from former President Yoon's side attended, including Choi Ji-woo, Song Jin-ho, Chae Myung-seong, Bae Bo-yun, Yoo Jeong-hwa, Kim Hong-il, and Kim Gye-ri.

On that day, it was reported that the special prosecutor team prepared and presented 178 slides in a PowerPoint presentation. The special prosecutor team believes that the statements made by former President Yoon’s former secretary of the presidential office, Kang Yi-gu, and former Vice Administrator Kim Seong-hoon at the special investigation headquarters of the prosecution changed, likely due to interference from Yoon's legal counsel. Consequently, they emphasized the need to detain former President Yoon, considering the risk of evidence destruction.

In response, former President Yoon's side reportedly denied the major charges listed by the special prosecutor in the arrest warrant application. They also contended that the grounds for arrest were not valid, citing Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Article 208 states that a person who has been released after being arrested cannot be re-arrested for the same criminal facts, unless new significant evidence is discovered. Former President Yoon's side claimed that the actions related to obstructing the cabinet meeting's deliberation, writing false public documents, providing public relations through foreign media spokespersons, and communication records regarding encrypted phones constitute grounds for limitation on re-arrest related to rebellion charges.

At the end of the examination, former President Yoon reportedly delivered a 20-minute closing statement. Earlier, the special prosecutor team claimed that "this martial law is a measure that regresses democracy achieved by the April 19 revolution by 40 years," but former President Yoon emphasized that it was "not intended to regress democracy but a martial law as a warning against the legislative tyranny of the opposition."

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