As the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol lived in a luxurious mansion on top of a mountain, threw parties and had a small army of bodyguards. These days, he is in solitary confinement in a 107-square-meter cell, eating light meals such as noodles and kimchi soup, and sleeping on the floor.
This will be his new reality for a while, after he was officially arrested on treason charges earlier Sunday as part of an investigation into his ill-fated declaration of martial law last month.
Mr. Yoon, 64, has been in the Seoul Detention Center, a state-run prison south of Seoul, since Wednesday, when he became the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested for criminal investigation. When a district court in Seoul issued a warrant for his arrest, he went from being a temporary prisoner to a criminal suspect facing trial.
That change of situation means that Mr. Yoon is unlikely to be released from prison anytime soon. In the next 18 days, criminal investigators and prosecutors are expected to charge him with charges of leading a rebellion during his interim martial law last month. If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.
The new circumstances of Mr. Yoon’s images symbolize his dramatic fall from grace: from being a predatory head of state to a persecuted president to a prisoner accused of committing one of the worst crimes in South Korea’s criminal code. He is the first South Korean to face treason charges since former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted in the 1990s.
As president, Mr. Yoon loved to throw parties, often inviting like-minded politicians to dinner parties and even cooking and serving scrambled eggs and gravy to his presidential press companies. He showed off his well-honed entertainment skills abroad when he belted out “American Pie” at a White House dinner in 2023.
On Sunday, Mr. Yoon won’t rebel against presidential aides and chefs catering to his needs, but a simple prison breakfast that might consist of dumpling soup, dried radish and cabbage kimchi. The average prison meal costs $1.20.
The political upheavals he has created seem as surprising as all South Koreans.
“The strange thing is that it was after I was impeached that I realized that I am really the president,” said Mr. Yoon in a long statement on Wednesday.
Many South Korean politicians and dignitaries – including two former presidents and Lee Jae-yong, head of the Samsung conglomerate – were being held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, a city south of Seoul. When he was a prosecutor, Mr. Yoon helped impeach one of the two former presidents, Park Geun-hye, on corruption charges. The prison also holds some of the country’s death row inmates, including serial killers.
Government officials said Mr. Yoon will not receive special treatment, except that he will be kept in his cell, away from other inmates and prisoners. and get a toothbrush and other necessities of prison life. He would be given an inmate number and a light green prison uniform.
His cell will have a TV, a sink, a small closet, a study desk that doubles as a dining table, and a folding mattress to sleep on. The cell has a toilet but no shower. This space will be monitored around the clock by closed circuit television. There is time for exercise and visiting hours.
Mr. Yoon has been an ardent fan of right-wing YouTubers who support his government and spread conspiracy theories portraying his domestic enemies as dangerous sympathizers with North Korea and China. Since declaring martial law on December 3, Mr. Yoon said his action was motivated in part by the same fear, anger and suspicions spread by extremists on YouTube.
Prison TV only shows programs approved by the Department of Justice. Prisoners cannot use the internet, but they have access to books and newspapers. In the gatherings that wanted to arrest Mr. Yoon weeks ago, some protesters carried signs that read: “Yoon Suk Yeol: It’s time for a digital detox!”
Yang Kyeung-soo, a labor union leader who had spent time in solitary confinement at the Seoul Detention Center, wrote prison survival tips for X. “You must learn to save warm water because you wash your dishes. If you eat everything they feed you, you will gain weight quickly.”
Mr. Yoon was expected to meet regularly with his lawyers at the place they visited to prepare for his trial. Separately, the Constitutional Court of the country is discussing whether the vote of the National Assembly of Dec. 14 whether the charge against him was legal and whether he should be legally removed from office.
The martial law of Mr. Yoon only lasted six hours because the opposition-dominated National Assembly voted for it. But during that short period of time, he ordered military commanders to seize the Council and arrest his political enemies, according to prosecutors who have arrested and charged military generals accused of helping Mr. Yoon in rebellion.
Mr. Yoon and his lawyers insisted that his imposition of martial law was a legitimate exercise of presidential power.
After detaining Mr. Yoon on Wednesday, the officials of the Office of Corruption Investigations in the country questioned him until he was sent to rest in the cell at the Seoul Detention Center at night. He then refused to leave the cell to face further questioning.
But on Saturday, he went to the Seoul Western District Court, where a judge debated whether to issue a warrant for his arrest. He declared his innocence as thousands of fans gathered outside demanding his release. Later, others surrounded two cars carrying investigators who wanted to arrest Mr. Yoon, shouting abuse and damaging their cars.
On Sunday morning, the judge issued an arrest warrant, saying that Mr. Yoon can destroy the evidence if he is released.
Soon after, Yoon’s angry supporters broke through police barricades and entered the courthouse, smashing windows with fire extinguishers and plastic chairs. They entered through broken windows, kicked computers, smashed mirrors on the wall and overturned other furniture inside. Many joined them by pushing and breaking the large glass doors of the court. Others were shouting for the judge to leave, according to live video from the scene. Some cried “Cancel the warrant!”
The police quickly moved in to restore order and arrest dozens of protesters.
Source link
