SEOUL, Jan 2 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Friday issued a warrant to detain South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges linked to his alleged drone deployment to North Korea in October last year, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant, citing the risk of evidence destruction, according to a special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk.
Yoon's detention, which was set to expire on Jan 18, will be extended by up to another six months.
Cho's team earlier requested an extension of his arrest while additionally indicting him over the alleged drone operation, which it claimed was aimed at inciting the North's retaliation and using it as a pretext for the martial law declaration in December 2024.
The team suspects Yoon gave direct orders to the drone commander to dispatch drones to North Korea without reporting to the defence ministry or the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This is the third time Yoon has been arrested.
The first time was in January last year on charges of leading an insurrection, though a court later accepted his request to cancel the arrest, granting his release in March.
He was later arrested again in July on charges related to his martial law bid, including alleged illegalities in calling only a few Cabinet members to a meeting held before he declared the decree on Dec 3, as well as charges of obstructing investigators' attempt to execute an arrest warrant.
-- BERNAMA-YONHAP
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