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Agence France-Presse

South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol had his mugshot taken and underwent a physical check before spending his first night in jail as a criminal suspect, a prison officer said on Monday.
Yoon was arrested in a dawn raid last week, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal inquiry on insurrection charges over his botched declaration of martial law.
A court approved his formal arrest warrant on Sunday, citing concerns he would destroy evidence, and Yoon went from being a temporary detainee to a criminal suspect facing an indictment and trial.
Yoon was given a 12-square-metre (129-square-foot) cell at Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang on Sunday, according to Shin Yong-hae, commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service.

He was “assigned to one of the standard rooms used by regular inmates”, Shin told lawmakers during a parliamentary session.
Yoon’s cell – which typically would hold five or six people, Yonhap reported – is similar in size to those where past presidents have been detained, Shin said.
The suspended leader, whose powers have been transferred to an acting president but who remains sitting head of state, also had his mugshot taken and underwent physical examination like his fellow inmates, Shin said.
“The individual cooperated well with the procedures without any particular issues,” Shin said.
According to prison regulations, Yoon will have to change from his normal clothes into a khaki prison uniform, and he will also have been assigned an inmate number.
Prison officials have said his cell includes a small table to use for eating and studying, a small shelf, a sink and a toilet. It also includes a television, but viewing time is strictly restricted.


Inmates are allowed to go out for an hour every day for exercise, and shower once a week, but local media have reported that authorities will attempt to prevent him coming into contact with other inmates.
His personal security detail will accompany him whenever he leaves his cell, reports say.
Yoon plunged South Korea into political chaos with his December 3 martial law declaration, which lasted just six hours before lawmakers voted it down. They later impeached him, stripping him of duties.
He faces a Constitutional Court case deciding whether to uphold his impeachment, and also a criminal investigation on insurrection charges, over which he has been detained.
Yoon has claimed the inquiry is illegal, and resisted arrest for weeks, vowing to “fight to the end”. His diehard supporters attacked the court building Sunday after it extended Yoon’s detention.
Dozens of people, including YouTube streamers, have been arrested over a riot at a Seoul court, police said on Monday, and 51 police officers were injured in the attack, including some with head injuries and fractures.

Up to 35,000 of his supporters were outside the court on Saturday, according to a police document.
After the formal arrest warrant was issued early on Sunday, some 300 people gathered near the rear entrance and began “throwing objects such as glass bottles, rocks, and chairs into the court grounds”, according to the police report.
“Some 100 protesters entered the court premises, smashing windows of the first floor, damaging the walls and entering inside the building,” the police said.
Yoon declined to attend questioning on Monday, his lawyers said, with the Corruption Investigation Office – the body in charge of the inquiry – saying it would consider a “forced summons”.


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Impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials in Gwacheon, South Korea, on January 15. Photo: AP

Police officers stand guard in front of the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, where Yoon was assigned to a standard room for regular inmates. Photo: EPA-EFE

Supporters of Yoon take party in a rally outside the Seoul Detention Centre on January 18. Photo: Reuters

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol walk past a broken signboard at the Seoul Western District Court on Sunday. Photo: Yonhap via AFP

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol walk past a destroyed wall at the Seoul Western District Court on Sunday. Photo: AFP

A motorcade believed to be carrying South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the Seoul Detention Centre on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Pro-Yoon supporters gather outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Martial law, memes and mayhem: the rise and fall of South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol

A placard of impeached South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol with horns is seen on an installation during a rally against Yoon near his residence in Seoul on January 5. Photo: AFP

A screenshot captured from a video released on Wednesday shows South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivering a speech. Photo: Xinhua

Yoon Suk-yeol (second from left) and his wife Kim Keon-hee (second from right) during a ceremony marking the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul on March 1, 2023. Photo: AFP

People attend a rally supporting the arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol near the presidential residence in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

People watching a televised address by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on December 12.  During the speech, Yoon accused North Korea of hacking the NEC and cast doubt on his party’s defeat in the 2024 National Assembly elections. Photo: Xinhua

Supporters of detained and impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at a rally at the entrance of the Seoul Detention Center in Seoul on January 16. Photo: AFP

‘Chinese people’ blamed for Yoon’s impeachment at ruling party’s rallies in South Korea

An effigy of President Yoon Suk-yeol is displayed by pro-impeachment protesters near his residence in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. Photo: Park Chan-kyong

Pro-impeachment protesters camp out near Yoon Suk-yeol’s residence in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. Photo: Park Chan-kyong

Lawmakers of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party gather in front of the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on Monday to rally against his detention. Photo: dpa

Supporters of Yoon hold “Stop the steal” signs during a rally near his residence in Seoul on Monday. Photo: AFP

South Korean first lady’s PhD under review due to plagiarism claims, adding to Yoon’s troubles

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol accompanied by first lady Kim Keon-hee (right) arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland in July 2024, to attend the Nato summit in Washington. Photo: AP

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee (right) take part in a ceremony to celebrate Korean Liberation Day, in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

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Yoon Suk-yeol was assigned a standard cell at Seoul Detention Centre, where he will be kept separate from other inmates


Yoon Suk-yeol was assigned a standard cell at Seoul Detention Centre, where he will be kept separate from other inmates.


South Korea

Yoon Suk-yeol

Protests around the world

Korean peninsula