S. Korean President released from detention but remains under probe

Constitutional Court's ruling on whether to uphold his impeachment expected any day

- 

SEOUL - Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from detention on March 8 after a court voided his arrest on procedural grounds, but he remains under investigation over his declaration of martial law.

The suspended President, who was detained in a dawn raid in January on insurrection charges over his Dec 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, walked out of the detention centre smiling, before bowing deeply before a small crowd of cheering supporters.

"I bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation," he said in a statement released through his lawyers.

A day earlier, a court had cancelled his arrest warrant on technical and legal grounds—a decision that prosecutors probing Mr Yoon said in a statement on March 8 was "unjust".

He was freed after the prosecutors waived their right to appeal against the court verdict, which was specifically about technical details of his detention on criminal charges.