South Korea: Another arrest warrant issued against former president

A new arrest warrant has been issued for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. A court in Seoul granted the decision following a request from the special prosecutor's office, as South Korea's official Yonhap news agency reported. The special prosecutor argued that Yoon might destroy evidence. The 64-year-old is accused of, among other things, high treason – a crime potentially punishable by life imprisonment.

As president, Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in December, completely unexpectedly, plunging his country into a deep national crisis. He justified this radical step by alleging that the left-wing opposition was infiltrated by communist and anti-state forces. He provided no evidence for these accusations.

The 64-year-old was arrested in mid-January in the wake of the national crisis, but was released from pretrial detention in early March. In April, he was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. At the beginning of June, left-wing politician Lee Jae Myung won the snap presidential election.

Yoon, through his lawyers, denied all charges. Early Thursday morning local time, he was taken to a detention center south of the capital Seoul, where he must remain until the court's verdict in his case.