Seoul, March 7 (IANS) A South Korean man, presumed to be supporting impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, was in critical condition on Friday after setting himself on fire, police said.
The 79-year-old man, whose name was withheld, set fire to himself on the rooftop of a building near Seoul City Hall at around noon, according to the police.
He was taken to a hospital and remained in serious condition, Yonhap news agency reported.
The man carried printed materials denouncing the opposition bloc, while supporting Yoon.
Earlier in the day, a South Korean court ordered the impeached President to be released from custody after accepting his request to cancel his arrest over his short-lived imposition of martial law.
Yoon has been held at a detention centre in Uiwang, just south of Seoul, since investigators detained him and brought him there on January 15 on charges of inciting an insurrection through his December 3 declaration of martial law.
With his release, Yoon will be able to stand trial without physical detention.
The Seoul Central District Court announced its decision about a month after Yoon’s legal team filed the cancellation request claiming the prosecution’s indictment of him on January 26 was illegal as it came a day after his detention period had expired.
Detained suspects can be held longer if indicted within their detention period.
Prosecutors countered that the indictment took place within the set period, as the criminal procedure code dictates it should be counted in days, not in minutes and hours, as claimed by Yoon’s legal team.
In siding with Yoon, the court explained that the detention period should be calculated in hours and his indictment took place outside the period.
If Yoon, who was elected in May 2022 for a single, five-year term, is formally removed from office, a snap election will be held within 60 days. However, if the impeachment is dismissed, Yoon will immediately resume his duties.
–IANS
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