Yoon Suk Yeol detained again after South Korean court issues fresh arrest warrant for former president
In approving his new arrest, the Seoul Central District Court accepted a special prosecutor's claim that Mr Yoon posed a risk of destroying evidence.
The decision followed his release in March, when the same court overturned his January arrest and allowed him to stand trial for rebellion without being held in custody.
Mr Yoon already faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law decree in December, which could carry a sentence of life in prison or death.
His criminal case is being handled by a team of investigators who are pursuing additional charges over Mr Yoon's authoritarian push.
In April, he was formally removed from office after his impeachment was upheld by the country's Constitutional Court.
South Korea's special counsel prosecutors on Sunday sought a new arrest warrant for Mr Yoon on charges including abuse of power and obstruction of official duties, among others.
Nam Se-jin, a senior judge at Seoul's Central District Court, issued the arrest warrant for the former president over concerns he could "destroy evidence" in the case.
Mr Yoon, 64, refused several summonses from a special counsel parliament launched to investigate his martial law attempt, prompting prosecutors to seek his arrest on June 24.
That request was initially denied after the court noted Mr Yoon had since signalled a willingness to cooperate.
But on Sunday, the special counsel filed a fresh warrant request, claiming his detention was deemed necessary.
Mr Yoon attended a hearing on Wednesday that lasted about seven hours, during which he rejected all charges, before being taken to the detention centre near Seoul where he waited for the court's decision in a holding room.
Once the warrant was issued, Mr Yoon was placed in a solitary cell at the facility, where he can be held for up to 20 days as prosecutors prepare to formally indict him including on additional charges.
If formally indicted, Mr Yoon could remain in custody for up to six months pending an initial court ruling.
His lawyers have denied the allegations against him and called the detention request an unreasonable move in a hasty investigation.
Mr Yoon did not respond to reporters' questions after arriving at the court on Wednesday afternoon for the hearing to review the special prosecutor's request.
More than 1,000 supporters rallied near the court that day, local media reported, waving flags and signs and chanting Mr Yoon's name in 35 degree Celsius heat.
Mr Yoon has defended his martial law attempt as necessary to "root out" pro–North Korean and "anti-state" forces.
But the Constitutional Court, when ousting Mr Yoon from office on April 4 in a unanimous decision, said his acts were a "betrayal of people's trust" and a "denial of the principles of democracy".
South Korea's new president, Lee Jae Myung, who won a snap election in June, approved legislation launching sweeping special investigations into Mr Yoon's push for martial law and various criminal accusations tied to his administration and wife.
AFP/Reuters/AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Aussie jobs on agenda for PM's China trip
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to meet with China's leaders over a six-day trip, which he says he'll use to boost economic ties and build job opportunities for Australia.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
The Dalai Lama — on the past and future of the religious leader and symbol of Tibetan identity - ABC Religion & Ethics
On 6 July 2025 Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, celebrated his ninetieth birthday with a large gathering of Tibetan religious leaders, Indian politicians and dozens of monks and laypeople. Prior to this, he issued an official announcement regarding his plans for the future: after decades of sometimes contradictory statements: he declared that the institution of the Dalai Lamas will continue and will adhere to traditional precedents; he declared that the institution of the Dalai Lamas will continue and will adhere to traditional precedents; he will reincarnate as a recognisable child successor; and he will reincarnate as a recognisable child successor; and the Gaden Phodrang Trust will remain the sole legitimate body overseeing the process of identifying his successor and providing training in the doctrinal and ritual lore that is central to the education and religious activities of Dalai Lamas. A brief history of the institution of the Dalai Lama Tibetan Buddhism, uniquely among Buddhist traditions, has since the fourteenth century maintained a system of reincarnating religious leaders, referred to as tulku ('emanation bodies') in Tibetan. When one tulku dies, members of his (and less often her) order will begin a search for a child successor, based on predictions made while the predecessor was alive, divination and mystical signs, and an often rigorous procedure that includes traditional tests and consultation with oracles. Tibetan Buddhism rejects the notion of a soul or enduring essence — instead, beings are conceived as psychophysical continuums of matter and consciousness, propelled from moment to moment by the force of past volitional actions ( karma ). When a person dies, the coarser levels of consciousness progressively disintegrate until all that remains is the most subtle level, the 'fundamental mind of clear light', following which one enters the intermediate state ( bardo ) between lives. The deceased is drawn toward a new life situation concordant with its past karma and will take residence in a newly fertilised zygote, following which the next birth begins. Most beings are powerless to control this process and retain no memory of their past after acquiring a new body and beginning to develop a new identity. Tibetan Buddhist doctrine, however, holds that some people who have made substantial progress on the path have also acquired greater wisdom and insight than others, and are thus fully conscious during the process of death, bardo and rebirth. They control it and choose the time and place, as well as their parents and life situation. This system is based on Buddhist tenets and practices, according to which all beings are situated somewhere along a continuum from delusion to enlightenment. The final state is that of a buddha (literally, 'awakened one'), someone who has woken up from the sleep of ignorance in which most beings spend their lives and developed a set of exalted qualities — including compassion, wisdom, generosity, ethics, patience and concentration. A practitioner who is fully committed to the path and who makes steady progress from life to life is a bodhisattva (buddha in training); their efforts are intimately connected to compassionate work for the benefit of others who are mired in the sufferings inherent in cyclic existence, in which they powerlessly transmigrate from one life to another. The Tibetan Buddhist tulku system recognises certain adepts as belonging to ongoing lineages of reincarnation. The Dalai Lamas are the most influential among the hundreds of tulku s. They are believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be physical emanations of the bodhisattva Chenrezi (in Sanskrit, Avalokiteśvara) and to have a particularly strong connection with Tibet and its people. The first Dalai Lama was Gendün Druba (1391–1474), and the second was Gendün Gyatso (1476–1542). The third Dalai Lama, Sönam Gyatso (1543–1588), was given the title 'Good, Brilliant, Admirable Ocean Lama' by the Mongolian prince Altan Khan (1507–1583). In the seventeenth century the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Losang Gyatso (1617–1682), became the ruler of most of the Tibetan Plateau with the help of a Mongol army. Except for some periods of civilian rule and interregnums between the death of one Dalai Lama and his successor, members of this lineage were (at least nominal) rulers until 1959, when the fourteenth Dalai Lama fled into exile following an invasion by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The term 'Dalai Lama' is a combination of the Mongolian word for ocean (indicating that Sönam Gyatso was an 'ocean of wisdom') and the Tibetan word lama (in Sanskrit, guru ). Such exchanges of laudatory titles were a common practice at the time, and Sönam Gyatso bestowed a title on Altan Khan that characterised him as a devout Buddhist ruler. Although the khan was Mongolian, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) contends that he was really a Chinese ruler and that his conferral of the title 'Dalai Lama' established Chinese control over Sönam Gyatso, his successors, and over Tibet. The Mongols, who created the largest contiguous land empire in history, conquered both China and Tibet and added them to the area they controlled. But in the imaginings of the CCP the Mongols were merely one of many minorities within China, and the land they controlled became inalienable parts of China. This is the precedent for contemporary Chinese claims to legitimate overlordship in Tibet, but it is tenuous at best. It would be like Australia asserting that India as part of its territory because both were parts of the British Empire. The claim that only the CCP can make valid confirmation of tulku s is similarly problematic. As communists, Party cadres are committed to materialism and rejection of all religious beliefs. There is nothing beyond matter, and so reincarnation is impossible. And yet Chinese law asserts that any tulku not recognised by the CCP is illegitimate — but the laws are written so broadly that they implicitly claim jurisdiction over tulku lineages in other countries such as Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan and India, as well as the increasing number of reincarnates who have been born in Western countries. From the standpoint of the CCP, the title 'Dalai Lama', or any other religious epithet, is solely under the control of the Party, and it can confer it on whomever it wants — much like a position such as postmaster. Tibetan Buddhists, however, revere Tenzin Gyatso, not because he holds the title 'Dalai Lama', but because they believe that he is a living bodhisattva who has taken rebirth in order to help Tibetans since the fifteenth century. It is worth pointing out that 'Dalai Lama' is not the epithet Tibetans use most often among themselves: he is more commonly referred to as Gyelwa Rinpoche (Precious Lord) or Kündün (The Presence). The future of the Dalai Lama's reincarnational lineage In the days prior to his ninetieth birthday, the Dalai Lama issued a number of announcements regarding decisions he has reached regarding the institution of which he is the current incumbent. For decades he has floated a number of outside-the-box and nontraditional possibilities: he suggested making the Dalai Lama an elected position, designating an adult as his successor in order to avoid the interregnum between the death of one Dalai Lama and the investiture of a successor; and he even indicated that he could be the last Dalai Lama if the Tibetan people felt that the institution had outlived its usefulness: As far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama's reincarnations should continue in the future. Tibetans overwhelmingly rejected such proposals, however, and made it clear that they want the lineage to continue. He is widely regarded, both in Tibet and among Tibetan exiles, as an example of an advanced Buddhist practitioner who devotes his life and lives to helping others and who has a special relationship with the land of Tibet and its people. He also embodies their aspirations for the future: most Tibetans, when asked, fervently state that they hope for a future in which Tibet will again be free and under the leadership of Tibetans. The Dalai Lama devolved his political powers in 2011 and now holds no official position, has no army or police force at his command, and his standing among his people is based on their perceptions of him as a symbol of their faith and their nation. In his official statement, the Dalai Lama declared: over the last 14 years leaders of Tibet's spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and Buddhists in Asia including mainland China, have written to me with reasons, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue. In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue. In an attempt to forestall Chinese government interference, he stipulated: the process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognised has been clearly established … responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition. This explicitly precludes the CCP from playing any role in the recognition process, but Chinese officials have made it clear that they reject the Dalai Lama's authority over the institution and will name their own Dalai Lama. Tibetan religious leaders and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile have indicated that they intend to follow the Dalai Lama's directives and will choose a successor in accordance with traditional procedures. Moreover, only senior religious leaders with the standing to be involved in such an important task will be involved. In a further move to relegate the CCP to the sidelines, the Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he will be born outside occupied Tibet. He cites a precedent: the reincarnations of deceased tulkus choose life situations in which they can continue the unfinished work of their predecessors. It would be impossible to function effectively as Dalai Lama in Tibet, and so the next Dalai Lama will be reborn in another country. The Dalai Lama has hinted that his successor might be found in the northern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama. It is likely that the CCP will continue to assert sole authority to designate future Dalai Lamas and other tulkus . Official statements prior to and following the Dalai Lama's announcement have asserted that only Party officials have the authority to make decisions regarding religious affairs — even though, as communists, they regard Buddhism and all other religions as remnants of 'feudal superstition', and the country's Constitution commits the Party to weakening the hold religions have on the minds of China's citizens and eventually eradicating them altogether. In the meantime, religious activities will be closely monitored and controlled, and religious figures who want to continue their practices must submit to surveillance and government interference. The Panchen Lama In 1995, following the death and subsequent search for the Panchen Lama, the second most influential tulku in Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama named Gendün Chökyi Nyima (1989– ), a five-year-old Tibetan boy, as the successor to the tenth Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama announced that he had followed traditional procedures for identifying the reincarnation. After several days of silence, the Chinese government denounced the Dalai Lama's decision and declared it 'illegal and invalid'. Further, the Dalai Lama, the most prominent tulku , has no authority in religious affairs. The boy and his family were arrested and imprisoned, and since that time all requests by human rights organisations and foreign governments to see them have been denied. The CCP subsequently coerced Buddhist leaders in Tibet to participate in a concocted ceremony that named another boy, the son of Communist Party officials, as the 'true' Panchen Lama. Official announcements of the recognition did not, however, claim that Communist Party officials had identified the boy who had inherited the tenth Panchen Lama's mindstream. One comment declared that the boy's 'lucky number came up', indicating that the choice was random and any child of similar age could have been designated. Members of Tibetan Women Association protest for the immediate release of the eleventh Panchen Lama, Gendün Chökyi Nyima, in New Delhi, India on 17 May 2023. (Photo by Arrush Chopra / NurPhoto via Getty Images) Since then, the CCP's Panchen Lama has become a mouthpiece for Party policies and an enthusiastic cheerleader for government policies regarding religion. It is likely that following the Dalai Lama's death the Chinese government will follow the precedents established with the Panchen Lama's succession and use their tulku to select a Dalai Lama of the Party's choosing. The child will be educated in Party-run schools and trained to perform the role of government spokesman for Tibetan Buddhist affairs. Tibetan exiles, meanwhile, will choose their own Dalai Lama, and he — or possibly she, because the Dalai Lama has indicated that his successor could be female — will receive a traditional monastic education in India under the tutelage of senior members of his lineage. Each side will claim sole legitimacy for its Dalai Lama: the CCP will use its coercive powers to force Tibetan religious figures and laypeople to give at least verbal assent to the claim that only atheist Communist Party cadres chose the 'correct' Dalai Lama; meanwhile, Tibetan exiles and non-Tibetans who have embraced Buddhism will regard the Dalai Lama chosen by traditional methods to be the legitimate one. But as this drama — incorporating elements of Buddhist doctrine, oracles, mystical signs and strange permutations of communist ideology — plays out, it appears certain that the war of words between the two sides will continue for the foreseeable future. John Powers is Lecturer in Buddhism Studies at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of twelve books, including Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, as well as numerous translations of Tibetan works.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
The Philippines is set to discuss 20% reciprocal tariff set by the United States
A group of exporters have stated that the scheduled 20% tariff will affect certain agricultural products exported from the country. A Social Weather Station (SWS) June survey reveals that 42% of Filipinos oppose Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. Malacañang Palace says it respects sentiments made in relation to the impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte. LISTEN TO SBS Filipino 11/07/2025 09:06 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino 📲 Catch up episodes and stories – Visit or stream on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Youtube Podcasts , and SBS Audio app.
