Former President Yoon Suk-yeol leaving the courthouse (Seoul=Yonhap News) Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is being investigated by the special prosecutor in relation to the December 3 martial law, is leaving the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after the closed-door hearing for his arrest warrant on July 9. Yonhap News 

The hearing held on the 18th by the court to determine the legality of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's arrest by the Jo Eun-seok Special Prosecutor's team for rebellion concluded after approximately six hours.

The court is expected to decide whether to release former President Yoon as early as today. Former President Yoon will be transferred to Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province, to await the decision.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 9-2 (Presiding Judges Ryu Chang-seong, Jeong Hye-won, Choi Bo-won) conducted the closed-door hearing on the legality of detention from 10:15 AM to 4:15 PM today.

Excluding a break of about 1 hour and 10 minutes for lunch from 12:20 PM to 1:30 PM, the hearing lasted a total of 4 hours and 50 minutes. It is understood that former President Yoon had his meal inside.

During today's hearing, former President Yoon's defense team and the special prosecutor's team clashed over the justification for his arrest and concerns about the destruction of evidence.

Former President Yoon's side argued that the special prosecutor's arrest was effectively a rearrest, following the initial arrest during the investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

Attending the hearing were lawyers Kim Hong-il, who led the defense team, as well as Bae Bo-yoon, Choi Ji-woo, Song Jin-ho, Yoo Jeong-hwa, and Kim Gye-ri.

The defense team, over approximately two hours, presented more than 140 PowerPoint (PPT) slides, emphasizing that the alleged criminal charges were not sufficiently proven and that there were no concerns of evidence destruction, thereby arguing for his release.

They also highlighted the logic that the five charges listed in the arrest warrant – infringement of the State Council's deliberation rights, post-hoc drafting of the martial law decree, false announcements related to martial law, instructions to delete records from a secure phone, and obstruction of arrest warrant execution – are all already included in the charges for which he has been indicted and is currently on trial, making a rearrest for the same charges impossible.

Relevant documents, including medical certificates to support former President Yoon's health condition, were also submitted to the court.

Police bus parked at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on July 18, the day of the hearing for former President Yoon Suk-yeol's detention review (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Seong-min = Police buses are parked at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on July 18, the day of the hearing for former President Yoon Suk-yeol's detention review. 2025.7.18 ksm7976@yna.co.kr

Park Eok-soo, assistant special prosecutor, and Cho Jae-cheol, chief prosecutor, who participated in the face-to-face investigation, attended from the special prosecutor's team.

After the hearing, Assistant Special Prosecutor Park left the court without answering reporters' questions such as 'What did you primarily explain to the court?' and 'What did the court focus on asking?'

The special prosecutor's team prepared approximately 100 pages of PPT materials to explain the necessity of detention and submitted a 100-page opinion document containing this content to the court yesterday.

The special prosecutor's team argued that all five charges listed in former President Yoon's arrest warrant have been proven, and that he should not be released due to the seriousness of the alleged crimes.

They also believe there is a high risk of evidence destruction, such as potential persuasion or pressure on witnesses. Based on a comprehensive consideration of these factors, they maintained that continued detention is necessary.

Meanwhile, former President Yoon, a former prosecutor himself, also appealed for his release in the courtroom, citing his deteriorating health condition.

The court is expected to make a decision on his release as early as today, taking into full consideration whether the detention requirements are met and concerns about the destruction of evidence. According to the Criminal Procedure Rules, the decision must be made within 24 hours of the conclusion of the hearing.

If the request is granted, former President Yoon will be released from Seoul Detention Center and will continue to undergo investigation and trial without detention. In this scenario, the special prosecutor's investigation is likely to face some disruption.

If the request is denied, his detention will remain in effect, and the special prosecutor is expected to proceed with strengthening the existing charges and investigating additional charges.

Yonhap News