Yoon Suk Yeol, the ex-president of South Korea, was apprehended again early Thursday, facing fresh criminal charges from a special prosecutor as he grapples with ongoing insurrection accusations. Previously impeached by the National Assembly in December and detained in January for a brief attempt to impose martial law, Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to face indictments during his tenure.
In March, a judge ordered Yoon's release due to a procedural miscalculation concerning his detention by prosecutors, which rendered his jail time invalid though not the charges against him. Yoon was formally ousted from office in April after his impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court. Despite these serious allegations, Yoon had been attending his trial freely, often seen in his neighborhood in southern Seoul.
In stark contrast, numerous former military generals and police chiefs who allegedly assisted him in the insurrection grapple with their own legal troubles behind bars. The surrounding atmosphere in the capital remains tense, especially following the chaotic military maneuvering that accompanied his ill-fated martial law declaration.
