Supporters of South Korean President Cause Mayhem in Court That Detained Him

After Yoon was put in custody early in the morning of January 19 (around 18:00 GMT Saturday) on charges of leading a rebellion, his supporters entered the Seoul Western District Court and caused mayhem there, the agency said.

According to the agency, the angry crowd overcame police resistance and broke into the courthouse through the gate behind the building, and some of the president's supporters climbed over the fence. They began to break windows and managed to get inside the building, where they also smashed glass and furniture with fire extinguishers and other improvised means, shouting "President Yoon Suk-yeol."

Law enforcement reinforcements that soon arrived began detaining rioters, calling on those remaining in the building to immediately leave it, and everyone in front of the court to disperse, stop the unauthorized rally and other illegal actions.

Earlier on Saturday, the court granted the request of the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) to detain the country's president Yoon, suspected of attempting to violently seize power. The court supported the investigators' opinion that if released, the president might try to destroy evidence pointing to his guilt.

The maximum period of detention requested by the investigators is 20 days, including the two days that Yoon has already spent in a pretrial detention center after his arrest on December 15 for repeatedly ignoring requests to appear for questioning. However, the CIO plans to soon hand over the results of the investigation to the prosecutor's office, which will forward the president's case to the court in early February. The court has the right to order the suspect's detention for two months, with a subsequent extension of up to six months on each count. In this regard, it is expected that the court of first instance will make a decision on the rebellion charges as early as August.

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have caused a disturbance in the Seoul court that ordered Yoon's detention, South Korean media reported.

After the Seoul Western District Court ruled that Yoon should be detained, his supporters overcame police resistance and entered the court building through the back gate, Yonhap News Agency said. The protesters broke glass and furniture using fire extinguishers and chanting the president's name, the report said.

The protesters also threw plastic chairs at the police, took away their shields and rubber batons and used them against the officers, Yonhap said, adding, however, that some protesters also tried to stop their associates, saying that "this is not what the president would have wanted."

After reinforcements arrived, the police arrested some of the rioters, calling on those still in the building to leave immediately and on the crowd around it to disperse, according to the report.

On December 3, President Yoon declared martial law, claiming that the opposition was sympathizing with North Korea and plotting a "rebellion." The parliament defied the presidential declaration and voted to lift martial law hours later. Yoon obeyed and apologized to the nation. On December 14, the South Korean parliament voted to impeach Yoon over his controversial declaration of martial law. The Constitutional Court will make a final decision on the matter by June 11, 2025. Yoon will be suspended from office pending the ruling and will not be able to leave the country, while an interim president will be in charge until the final verdict is passed.