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Yoon Suk-yeol attempted to impose martial law on South Korea in December before being impeached.

A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over his attempt at imposing martial law on December 3.

The arrest warrant was issued in the early hours of Thursday, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Yoon had appeared in a Seoul court on Wednesday for a hearing to review the arrest warrant requested by prosecutors.

Yoon was removed from his position as president by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in April over his martial law attempt, after being accused of overstepping his authority. Parliament had voted to impeach Yoon on December 14, but needed the approval of the Constitutional Court.

Yoon was previously arrested in January while he was still president, but was released in March after his arrest was overturned.

However, the Seoul Central District Court accepted on Thursday the prosecutor’s argument that there was a risk Yoon would seek to destroy evidence if he was not arrested.

The former president is accused of abuse of power, falsifying official documents and obstruction of official duties, as well as charges related to his attempt at imposing martial law on South Korea, in what prosecutors have labelled an attempted rebellion, and an attempt to seize total power and detain his opponents.

Yoon’s martial law attempt fell flat, however, after protesters and lawmakers quickly descended on South Korea’s parliament, defying soldiers, before the parliamentarians voted to lift the martial law order.

South Korea voted in Yoon’s liberal rival, Lee Jae Myung, in June. He approved legislation to launch investigations into Yoon’s martial law attempt and other criminal allegations involving his wife and administration.

More to come…

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies