South Korean judiciary releases impeached President Yoon from prison

The Seoul Central District Court ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released Friday. The decision came after accepting his request to cancel his arrest for his declaration of short-lived martial law.

Following his release, Yoon will be able to continue his criminal trial without physical detention.

The order came about a month after Yoon's legal team applied to cancel the arrest. The defense argued that the indictment by the prosecution on Jan. 26 was illegal because it came a day after his detention period expired.

"The initial 10-day period for detention excludes the time when the documents were sent to the court for a review on whether to issue the arrest warrant or not, making the deadline Jan. 26 at around 9:00 a.m. while the prosecution charged him on the same day, a little before 7:00 p.m.," Yonhap news agency, which had access to the decision, reported.

The court also ruled in favor of Yoon's arguments on the legality of the investigation, related to the alleged insurrection, being carried out by the Office for the Investigation of Corruption of High-Ranking Officials, because such a function would not be within its purview.

Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest

The South Korean president was arrested after hundreds of police and anti-corruption agents gained access to his residence in January, where he had been barricaded since the imposition of controversial martial law in December.

The leader plunged the country into a severe political crisis by suspending civil order and sending soldiers into the National Assembly on the night of Dec. 3. However, he repealed the measure hours later amid furious backlash from Korean society, the international community, opposition politicians and colleagues in his own party.

Already the subject of the insurrection investigation that made him the country's first president arrested during his tenure, Yoon was suspended by a parliamentary impeachment motion.