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A court in Seoul has extended the detention of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country last month.
Citing concerns that Yoon might destroy evidence if freed, a judge issued a warrant on Sunday allowing investigators to detain the ousted president for up to 20 days.
The 64-year-old was arrested on Wednesday after a week-long standoff between investigators and his presidential security team.
The president’s supporters stormed the court after his detention was extended, reportedly smashing windows and doors in an incident condemned by Yun and the country’s acting president.
The warrant — and Yoon’s subsequent refusal to comply with investigators — is the latest development in a saga that has left South Korea reeling from a political crisis.
The warrant was issued around 03:00 local time (18:00 GMT on Saturday).
The ousted president is under investigation by the Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO) on charges of sedition over the failed martial law decree on December 3 that plunged the country into chaos.
He has been impeached by parliament and suspended – but will only be removed from office if the constitutional court upholds the impeachment.
Investigators now have 20 days — including the four days Yoon has already spent in custody since his arrest — to bring the president to justice.
After his detention was extended, Yun’s lawyer Yoon Gap Geun told Yonhap news agency that the president would refuse to be questioned by the CIO.
Pro-Yoon supporters gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the decision, and many entered the building after the judges granted the extension.
Journalists at the scene reported seeing dozens of people arrested by the police after the incident.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok expressed “deep regret” over the violence, “which is unimaginable in a democratic society,” adding that authorities would tighten security around future demonstrations.
Choi only recently assumed the top job after South Korea’s parliament voted in favor the impeachment of the previous acting president, Han Dak-sooin connection with claims of disruption of Yun’s impeachment process.
Yoon was “shocked” by the scenes in court, his lawyer said, and urged his supporters to speak out peacefully, local media reported.
The incident is the latest in a series of attempts by Yoon’s supporters to derail the legal proceedings against the president.
The night before his arrest, hundreds of Yun’s supporters protested camped near the president’s house and clashed with policemen who tried to take him into custody.
Similar scenes took place during a previous arrest attempt on January 3, where angry supporters of Yun, hoping to stop the arrest, held a rally near the president’s house.
South Korean police were forced to abandon their first arrest attempt after the presidential security service blocked the entrance to Yuna’s grounds.
After that, public opinion was divided Yun’s shocking martial law announcement last monthwhich he said was linked to “anti-state forces” in South Korea’s parliament, referring to North Korea.
But others see the move as an extreme reaction to the political impasse that has emerged since his main opposition party won in April, as well as Yun’s unpopularity comes amid a scandal surrounding the first lady.
Thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against the ousted president in the weeks following his failed attempt to impose martial law.
