A Seoul court has extended the detention of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose a state of emergency in the country last month.
Citing concerns that Yoon could destroy evidence if released, a judge on Sunday issued an order allowing investigators to detain the suspended president for up to 20 days.
The 64-year-old was arrested on Wednesday after weeks of standoff between investigators and his presidential security team.
The president’s supporters stormed the court after his detention was extended, reportedly smashing windows and doors in an incident condemned by Yoon and the country’s acting president.
The warrant – and Yoon’s subsequent refusal to comply with investigators – is the latest development in a saga that has left South Korea mired in political crisis.
The order was issued around 03:00 local time (18:00 GMT on Saturday).
The suspended president is under investigation by the Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO) on charges of sedition over the failed emergency law order on December 3 that plunged the country into turmoil.
He was impeached and suspended by parliament – but he will only be removed from office if the constitutional court upholds the impeachment.
Investigators now have 20 days – including the four days Yoon has already spent in custody after his arrest – to bring the president to trial.
After his detention was extended, Yoon’s lawyer, Yun Gap-geun, told the Yonhap news agency that the president would refuse to be questioned by the CIO.
Pro-Yoon’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the ruling, and many entered the building after the judges granted the extension.
Journalists at the scene reported seeing dozens of people arrested by police after the incident.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok expressed “strong regret” over the violence, “which is unthinkable in a democratic society,” adding that authorities would increase security around future performances.
Choi only recently took office after the South Korean parliament voted in favor impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-soofor allegedly frustrating Yoon’s impeachment process.
Yoon was “shocked” by the scenes in court, his lawyer said, and urged his supporters to express themselves peacefully, local media reported.
The incident is the latest episode in a series of attempts by Yoon’s supporters to thwart legal action against the president.
The night before his arrest, hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters camped in front of the president’s house and jostled with policemen who were trying to detain him.
Similar scenes took place during an earlier arrest attempt on January 3, where angry pro-Yoon supporters hoping to stop the arrest gathered outside the president’s house.
South Korean police were forced to abandon their first arrest attempt after the president’s security team blocked the entrance to Yoon’s compound.
Public opinion was divided after that Yoon’s shocking announcement of the state of emergency last monthwhich he claimed was due to “anti-state forces” in the South Korean parliament, while mentioning North Korea.
But others saw the move as an extreme reaction to the political gridlock that ensued after his main opposition party won a landslide victory in April, as well as Yoon’s unpopularity amid the First Lady scandal.
Thousands took to the streets to protest the suspended president in the weeks following his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law.
