Former President Yoon Suk-yeol was re-arrested on July 10 (Korea time) by the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok investigating rebellion charges. This marks Yoon’s first re-arrest in four months since his initial detention by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on rebellion leader charges was overturned by a court ruling.

Despite personally appearing in court to plead not guilty, Yoon could not avoid his second arrest. Securing the “ringleader” just three weeks after launching the investigation, the special counsel team has gained a foothold to expand its probe into foreign exchange violations, alleging Yoon induced military conflict with North Korea to justify martial law. Seoul Central District Court Judge Nam Se-jin, in charge of warrants, issued an arrest warrant for Yoon at 2:07 a.m. on July 10.

The warrant, requested by the special counsel team, cited charges including abuse of authority, obstruction of rights, interference with special public duties, creation and use of false public documents, violation of the Presidential Records Act, destruction of public documents, violation of the Presidential Security Act, and aiding a fugitive.

After a six-hour and 40-minute pre-arrest interrogation (substantive warrant review) starting at 2:22 p.m. the previous day, Judge Nam justified the warrant, stating there was a “risk of evidence tampering.”Although Yoon denied all charges, the court likely found the special counsel’s evidence—witness testimonies and material proof—sufficient to substantiate the allegations. The team’s argument that Yoon’s actions, such as ordering the creation of a false martial law proclamation document to disguise the legality of the declaration and instructing co-conspirators to delete encrypted phone records to obstruct the investigation, constituted evidence tampering, appears to have been accepted.

Claims that Yoon’s lawyers intervened in investigations of key figures, such as former Presidential Office Chief of Staff Kang Eui-gu and former Deputy Presidential Security Service Chief Kim Sung-hoon, to coerce statements favorable to Yoon, likely influenced the warrant issuance. The court also found merit in arguments that Yoon, facing the possibility of a heavy sentence, repeatedly ignored summons without just cause, maintained a non-cooperative stance in the rebellion trial, and posed a flight risk.

The special counsel team applied five major criminal charges and requested the arrest warrant on July 6. Investigations revealed that on December 3 of the previous year, Yoon convened a partial Cabinet meeting to create the appearance of a legitimate process, obstructing nine Cabinet members’ rights to deliberate on martial law. To conceal the legal flaws of the proclamation, a false martial law document was created and later destroyed.

Additional charges include disseminating false press guidance to foreign media, ordering the deletion of encrypted phone records of former National Conference for Unification chief Yeo In-hyung and others, and using the Presidential Security Service to obstruct arrest warrant executions. Launched on June 12 and initiating investigations six days later, the special counsel team employed its signature rapid pace to secure Yoon’s custody. The team can now investigate Yoon under detention for up to 20 days.

As the rebellion-related charges listed in the warrant were partially substantiated during earlier police and prosecution stages, the remaining detention period is expected to focus on foreign exchange violations. Yoon is suspected of ordering drones to infiltrate Pyongyang to provoke North Korea and justify martial law.

Unverified military testimonies, such as claims that the Pyongyang drone operation was a “V” (presidential) directive, have surfaced. Given the classified nature of foreign exchange violations involving military secrets, specific details of the special counsel’s investigation remain undisclosed. While the team has privately questioned numerous military officials, it noted significant investigations remain, and foreign exchange charges were excluded from the warrant to avoid exposing the probe.

However, Yoon’s consistent disputes over the special counsel’s summons timing, methods, and investigators cast doubt on his cooperation. Proving foreign exchange violations may be challenging without evidence of “collusion with a foreign state,” such as North Korea. Investigations into co-conspirators named in the false martial law document creation and destruction, including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, are expected to gain momentum. Others under scrutiny include former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, suspected of ordering media blackouts, and former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, implicated in post-martial law safe house meetings.