South Korean president released as prosecution decides not to appeal

SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was released Saturday as the prosecution decided not to appeal against a court's release approval.

Yoon got off a black vehicle and walked out of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, about 20 km south of Seoul, waving hands and bowing to his supporters who were standing along the road, TV footage showed.

After arriving at the presidential residence in central Seoul, the impeached leader got off the vehicle again to shake hands with his supporters.

Yoon said in a statement that he appreciated the court's determination, people's support despite cold weather, and the leadership of the ruling People Power Party.

The Seoul Central District Court approved the release of the arrested president on Friday, accepting Yoon's request to cancel his detention that was made by his legal team on Feb 4.

Yoon was apprehended in presidential office on Jan 15 and was indicted under detention on Jan 26 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection, becoming the country's first sitting president to be arrested and prosecuted.

Prosecutors brought the accusation against Yoon at 6:52 pm local time on Jan. 26, but the Seoul Central District Court said Yoon's arrest period expired at 9:07 am local time of the same day.

The prosecution's special investigative unit in charge of Yoon's insurrection case sought to appeal against the court's Friday ruling, but the country's prosecutor general ordered the unit to follow the court's decision, according to local media outlets.

Yoon declared an emergency martial law on the night of Dec 3 last year, but it was revoked by the opposition-led National Assembly hours later.

A motion to impeach Yoon was passed in the National Assembly on Dec 14, and since then the constitutional court has held 11 hearings on Yoon's impeachment with its final verdict widely expected to be delivered next week.