Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from detention on Saturday after a court voided his arrest on procedural grounds \u2014 but he remains under investigation over his declaration of martial law. The suspended president, who was detained in a dawn raid in January on insurrection charges over his Dec 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, walked out of the detention centre smiling, before bowing deeply before a small crowd of cheering supporters. \u201cI bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation,\u201d Yoon said in a statement released through his lawyers. A day earlier, a court had cancelled his arrest warrant on technical and legal grounds \u2014 a decision that prosecutors probing Yoon said in a statement was \u201cunjust\u201d. Yoon was freed after the prosecutors waived their right to appeal the court verdict, which was specifically about technical details of his detention on criminal charges. Yoon also faces a separate Constitutional Court ruling on whether to uphold his impeachment and formally strip him from office, with the judges\u2019 decision expected any day. Prosecutors said that \u201cgiven the Constitutional Court\u2019s ruling and related considerations, the Prosecutor General has instructed the team to actively present its arguments before the trial court instead,\u201d of appealing Yoon\u2019s release from detention. South Korea must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days if Yoon is removed. The criminal case against him will continue even if he is formally stripped of office. Yoon\u2019s lawyers, who had filed a request to cancel his arrest last month arguing his detention was unlawful because the prosecution waited too long to indict him, hailed his release. \u201cThe president\u2019s release signifies the restoration of the rule of law,\u201d his legal team said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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