Ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol once again refused to appear for questioning on Monday after violence erupted the previous day when his supporters stormed the court building and smashed windows, according to his lawyers.
Early Sunday morning, a judge at the Seoul Western District Court ruled to extend Yoon’s detention on charges of sedition following an attempt to declare martial law last month. Yoon, who has been detained since last Wednesday, could be held for weeks or even months.
Video footage showed that when the decision to detain Yoon was announced, a crowd of his supporters entered the building, jumping the fence before breaking windows with American flags. The footage depicted rioters moving from floor to floor inside, using objects to break down doors and shouting that they were looking for Cha Eun-kyung, the judge who ordered the arrest.
Yonhap News Agency reported that 51 police officers were injured, seven of them seriously, and 46 people were arrested. Cha was placed under police protection due to security concerns, according to Yonhap.
On Monday morning, police officers set up a barricade around the court, restricting entry to staff and accredited journalists.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok issued a statement on Sunday condemning the violence and pledging to investigate the incident, punish the perpetrators, and increase security at protests.
People Power Party gains support
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, which has in recent weeks resisted efforts to investigate the martial law initiative and portrayed itself as the victim of an unfair legal process, saw its support rate reach 39 percent last week, ahead of the main opposition Democratic Party’s 36 percent—a five percentage point increase from the previous week. The poll was conducted in mid-January, before this weekend’s violent court riots.
In a statement released through his lawyers after the courtroom upheaval early Sunday, Yoon said he found the events “shocking and unfortunate,” adding that he “understood” the feelings of “injustice and anger” of his supporters who had gathered in the courtroom overnight.
Far-right threat
Critics are now condemning Yoon for encouraging far-right YouTubers who spread unsubstantiated claims that opposition political parties are “spying for China and North Korea.”
“Far-right YouTubers now pose a physical threat to our society,” the left-wing Hankyoreh newspaper said in an editorial on Monday morning, adding: “Using violence to challenge a court ruling is an anti-social act that destroys the rule of law and democracy that upholds our society.”
Mainstream conservative media outlets also condemned Yoon’s actions. The center-right Dong-A Ilbo newspaper on Monday accused the ousted president of “irresponsibly inciting his supporters.”
Arguing that incidents such as Sunday’s violence had damaged South Korea’s “prestige and international credibility,” Dong-A Ilbo accused Yoon and the ruling party of “plunging the country into chaos.”
