South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who lawmakers voted to impeach and was indicted on criminal charges for declaring martial law last December, was cleared to be released from detention on Friday.
In its ruling, the court said the crime of insurrection is not included within the investigative jurisdiction of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) – the agency that had requested the arrest warrant against Yoon.
The court also said it was questionable whether the insurrection charges indictment was filed after the defendant’s detention period had expired. It therefore canceled Yoon’s arrest warrant to “ensure procedural clarity and eliminate doubts regarding the legality of the investigation process,” it said.
Any further unresolved “legal controversies” during the criminal trial could “serve as grounds for annulment in a higher court and may also provide grounds for a retrial even after a significant amount of time has passed,” it added.
The court will now send its ruling to the detention center – which said it expects to release Yoon by the end of Friday after receiving the documents.
Yoon’s lawyers praised the ruling, saying in a statement that the court had “set the definition straight, declaring what laws and principles are,” and that its decision showed “the rule of law is alive in this country.”
The ruling adds to the uncertainty swirling around Yoon’s various legal battles and the country’s political future. South Korea’s government has been in disarray for months, with parliament also voting to impeach its prime minister and the previous acting president.
Yoon’s criminal charges are separate from his impeachment trial. The country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to uphold his impeachment or reinstate Yoon to office.
Friday’s ruling means Yoon can now await the impeachment verdict from home instead of in detention.
His expected release will undoubtedly dismay the country’s opposition – but be celebrated by supporters, many of whom have regularly gathered outside his detention center since January.
Kwon Young-se, chairman of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, welcomed the court’s decision on Friday, calling it “an important moment to confirm that the rule of law and justice of the Republic of Korea are alive.”
He added that he hoped the Constitutional Court “will make a fair and just ruling based solely on constitutional values” during the impeachment trial.