Trending 
Prosecutors in South Korea have submitted a fresh request for an arrest warrant against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, following two rounds of questioning, including a lengthy nine-hour session on Saturday.
Yoon was ousted from office in April after being impeached by lawmakers, who accused him of attempting to undermine civilian rule during a controversial incident on 3 December, when armed soldiers were deployed to the National Assembly.
He now faces insurrection charges and is under investigation by a special counsel examining his declaration of martial law. Prosecutor Park Ji-young, speaking on behalf of the investigation team, confirmed that a request had been filed with the Seoul Central District Court on Sunday.
“The special counsel has filed a detention warrant against former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges including abuse of power, obstruction of official duties, and falsification of official documents,” Park told reporters. She declined to provide further details, stating that the court would examine the grounds for detention.
Yoon is also accused of resisting arrest during a failed attempt to detain him in January, and of allegedly authorising drones to fly to North Korea in a move seen by prosecutors as an effort to justify the imposition of martial law.
His legal team sharply criticised the renewed warrant bid, calling it “excessive and unwarranted”.
“We have thoroughly refuted the allegations and shown that no crime exists under the law,” the legal team said in a statement. “The special counsel presented no objective evidence, and even witness testimony fails to support the charges.”
Last week, a court dismissed the first arrest warrant against Yoon, citing his newly declared willingness to cooperate after initially refusing to appear for questioning.
