SOUTH KOREA: Court Rejects Yoon Lawyers' Efforts To Have Pres. Released

The Seoul Central District Court has rejected a petition from the lawyers of suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol requesting that he be released as they claimed the detention warrant issued by the Seoul West District Court was invalid. Following the detention of Yoon for questioning on 15 Jan, there is a 48-hour window to either request a formal court order for the president's arrest or set him free. 

• The Public Prosecution Service is expected to request an arrest warrant tomorrow (17 Jan). As Yonhap reports "Originally, the prosecution had to decide whether to request an arrest warrant by 10:33 AM on the 17th, but as the arrest warrant review process progresses, the deadline for requesting an arrest warrant is expected to be extended to the evening of the 17th."
• After exercising his right to remain silent during 10 hours of questioning by CIO prosecutors following his detention, Yoon was moved to a detention centre near to Seoul.
• Despite vocal condemnation of Yoon's actions from the opposition and international speculation about the strength of the country's democratic institutions, opinion polling shows the conservative People Power Party (PPP), from which Yoon hails, recording a spike in support after an initial collapse post-3 Dec. Gallup Korea puts the falling support for the liberal main opposition Democratic Party (DPK) down to  "dampened expectations of the moderates and progressives who supported the main opposition party, while conservatives raised alarms about the potential transition of power,".

Chart 1. Legislative Election Opinion Polling, % and 6-Poll Moving Average