Yoon of South Korea avoids interrogation as security increases following a court outburst

In the face of charges against scores of his followers for a violent outburst on a court building, South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol declined to be interviewed by police on Monday as part of an investigation into whether he committed insurrection.

The Seoul Detention Center, where Yoon is being kept as a pre-trial detainee, and the Constitutional Court, which is holding an impeachment hearing to determine whether to remove him from office permanently, are both seeing increased security, according to authorities.

Yoon’s brief proclamation of martial law on December 3 led to his detention last week, making him the first incumbent president of South Korea to be jailed.

His mugshot was taken as part of the official custody procedures on Sunday after a judge authorized a warrant, noting the suspect’s potential to destroy evidence.

Anger-filled supporters of Yoon attacked the Seoul Western District Court building early on Sunday after the midnight verdict, trashing property and fighting with police, who were occasionally overwhelmed by a throng attacking them with broken barriers.

Police want to hold 66 of the 90 individuals arrested following the skirmishes on trespassing, obstructing official duties, and assaulting police officers, according to Yonhap News Agency.

“Police will also take legal action against other offenders who are still being identified,” interim Justice Minister Kim Seok-woo told a parliamentary judiciary committee.

The “illegal violence” at the court building was deeply regretted by Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who also encouraged authorities to properly enforce the law in order to avoid a recurrence of Sunday’s events.

The fourth-largest economy in Asia is trembling due to South Korea’s greatest political crisis in decades.

Using political instability as an excuse, South Korea’s central bank reduced its 2025 economic growth prediction on Monday from 1.9% to 1.6% to 1.7%.

INTRUSION IN LIVESTREAMING

Shortly after Sunday’s 3 a.m. decision to authorize Yoon’s arrest, hundreds of demonstrators managed to breach a perimeter and approach the court building, with some hurling fire extinguishers at police lines.

Some of them were captured on camera wandering the hallways where the judges’ offices were situated and yelling the name of the judge who had granted the order.

The chief of the National Court Administration, Chun Dae-yup, reported that at least one judge’s room had been forcibly entered.

A number of people engaged broadcast the intrusion live on YouTube, capturing demonstrators screaming Yoon’s name and destroying the court. Police have apprehended a few streamers while they were broadcasting.

The Corruption inquiry Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is in charge of the criminal inquiry, has continually failed to assist with the investigation, and Yoon has now refused to show up for interrogation on Monday.

Since the CIO itself lacks the legal power to carry out the investigation, his attorneys have claimed that both his arrest on Wednesday and the warrant for his detention are unlawful since they were supported by a court in the incorrect jurisdiction.

The felony for which Yoon might face charges is insurrection, which is potentially punishable by death and one of the few crimes for which a South Korean president is not immune. But in almost 30 years, South Korea has not carried out single execution.

Through his attorneys, Yoon expressed his feelings that the court outburst on Sunday was “shocking and unfortunate” and urged everyone to voice their thoughts in a civil manner. In the statement, Yoon also acknowledged that many people were experiencing “rage and unfairness” and urged the police to adopt a more forgiving stance.