South Korea’s impeached president released from prison

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol walked out of a detention centre on Saturday after prosecutors decided not to appeal a court decision to cancel the impeached leader’s arrest warrant on insurrection charges.

Yoon, 64, remains suspended from his duties, and his criminal and impeachment trials continue over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.

The Seoul Central District Court cancelled Yoon’s arrest warrant on Friday, citing the timing of his indictment and questions about the legality of the investigation process.

“I would like to thank the Central District Court for their courage and determination in correcting the illegality,” Yoon said in a statement.

As he left the facility, a relaxed and smiling Yoon, in a dark suit with no necktie, stepped out of his car, waved, raised his fist and bowed to cheering supporters waving South Korean and U.S. flags.

His lawyers said the court decision “confirmed that the president’s detainment was problematic in both procedural and substantive aspects,” calling the ruling the “beginning of a journey to restore rule of law”.

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.

The main opposition Democratic Party criticised the prosecutors’ decision for “throwing the country and people into crisis”, and urged the Constitutional Court to remove Yoon from office as soon as possible.

In his impeachment trial, the Constitutional Court is expected to decide in coming days whether to reinstate or remove Yoon.

On Saturday, some 55,000 Yoon supporters rallied in Seoul’s main districts, while 32,500 people demonstrated against him near the Constitutional Court, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unofficial police estimates.

The public, however remains largely anti-Yoon, with 60% of respondents saying he should be removed from office and 35% opposing removal, according to a Gallup Korea poll on Friday.

Before the prosecutors’ decision, hundreds of Yoon supporters also protested in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

“I was very sorry that he couldn’t come out quickly, and it was a hard time for me to wait, but it was very much worth the wait,” said Lee Heoung-ok, a 62-year-old supporter who waited for Yoon’s release at the detention centre.

Shim Ye-rin, 27, said: “I saw him walking out on his own feet and greeting his supporters. It was a little bit ridiculous to me because it seemed like something that couldn’t happen in a democratic society, something that was outside of common sense.”

Yoon, the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office, has been held at the Seoul Detention Centre, located in the city of Uiwang, 22 km south of Seoul, since Jan.15.