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A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol for the second time over a failed attempt to impose martial law during his final months in office.
The Seoul Central District Court approved the warrant on Wednesday, citing concerns that Yoon could destroy evidence related to the case.
Yoon was taken into custody following a seven-hour hearing earlier in the day. He had been held temporarily at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, south of the capital, while the court deliberated. The former president denied all charges during a 20-minute final statement at the hearing.
The charges stem from Yoon’s alleged attempt to declare martial law on December 3, 2024. Prosecutors allege that Yoon violated the rights of Cabinet members by inviting only a select few to a meeting before drafting a false declaration of martial law. The document was reportedly signed by then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Additional accusations include directing a spokesperson to distribute false statements to foreign media denying the intention to subvert the constitutional order. Yoon is also accused of instructing the Presidential Security Service to block investigators from detaining him in January and ordering the deletion of call records from secure military phones.
Yoon was initially detained in January while still serving as president but was released in March after a court canceled his arrest warrant. In April, the Constitutional Court formally removed him from office following his impeachment by lawmakers.
The special counsel leading the investigation, Cho Eun-suk, filed the latest request for Yoon’s arrest. According to Yonhap News Agency, senior judge Nam Se-jin determined that the former president posed a credible risk of evidence tampering.
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