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Supporters of the suspended South Korean president stormed a Seoul court early Sunday morning after a judge extended Yoon Suk-yeol's detention on charges of rebellion and abuse of power.
More than 40,000 people gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday evening to show support yon While investigators are seeking to extend his detention. He was arrested on Wednesday in connection with his failed attempt to impose martial law last month.
After the judge issued the extension at about 3 a.m. local time, dozens of supporters broke through police barricades and stormed the building, according to South Korean police, smashing windows and doors and launching fire extinguishers at officers guarding the entrance to the court.
Police reinforcements eventually regained control of the building and arrested nearly 90 people, according to local media reports.
The clash is the latest chapter in an escalating political crisis sparked by Yoon's decision last month to send troops to the country's National Assembly as part of his attempt to prevent lawmakers from rejecting his attempt to impose military rule on the East Asian country.
Yoon was suspended from his duties after the National Assembly approved a motion to impeach him by a two-thirds majority last month. But he vowed to “struggle until the end,” claiming that he was the victim of a conspiracy by leftist and pro-North Korean forces.
Many of Yoon's hardline supporters adopted the language of US President Donald Trump's followers, carrying American flags and signs in English reading “Stop the Steal” – a reference to allegations of fraud in the 2020 US presidential election that preceded the break-in. The US Capitol building by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
While his powers have been transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok as acting president, Yoon remains South Korea's head of state as the country's Constitutional Court deliberates on whether to approve his removal or reinstatement.
Yoon was arrested and detained on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff at his hilltop compound between his security detail and investigators from South Korea's Corruption Investigation Bureau.
The president's legal team has repeatedly claimed that the CIO does not have the capacity to investigate accusations of rebellion, and that the Seoul Western District Court has no jurisdiction in his case. South Korean judges rejected both claims.
According to the CIO, Yoon has refused to cooperate with investigators since his arrest on Wednesday. The extension of the arrest warrant means he could be held for questioning for another 20 days, during which he will likely be held in solitary confinement due to his status as head of state.
Seok Dong-hyun, Yoon's lawyer, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday morning that he found the court's decision “really difficult to understand.” But he called on the president's supporters not to “go too far” as they could “fall into the trap of targeted attacks or counterattacks by leftist forces.”
