SEOUL —A Seoul court on Sunday dismissed the
injunction filed by President Yoon Suk Yeol that sought to invalidate the court
warrants to detain him and search the Presidential residence, court officials
said.
The Seoul Western District Court made the decision days
after Yoon's legal defence team lodged the objection to suspend the effect of
the warrants that they called "illegal."
No details on the grounds for the court's dismissal were
immediately available.
Yoon's legal team said they would consider appealing the
ruling.
"We will consider whether to file an appeal with the
Supreme Court," Yun Gap-geun, Yoon's lawyer, said. "The dismissal
does not mean that the warrants are legally valid."
The same court approved the warrant to detain Yoon for
questioning over his role in the failed December 3 martial law bid. It also
issued a warrant to search the presidential residence compound in central
Seoul.
Yoon's legal team has argued that the warrants were legally
flawed, claiming the judge who issued them arbitrarily ruled that the criminal
law prohibiting the execution of search or arrest warrants in restricted
military and security areas does not apply to Yoon's case.
Earlier in the day, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol's
lawyer said that he would file a complaint with the prosecution this week
seeking an investigation into the chief of South Korea's anti-corruption agency
handling Yoon's martial law case and other police officers for attempting to
execute a warrant to detain Yoon.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking
Officials (CIO) unsuccessfully attempted to execute the court warrant for
Yoon's detention on Friday, engaging in a standoff with the Presidential
Security Service that ended after six hours as the CIO decided to withdraw its
officials, citing safety concerns.
Yun Gap-Geun, Yoon's defence attorney, said in a statement
to the media that his team will lodge the complaint on Monday against some 150
law enforcement officials, including CIO chief Oh Dong-woon, Yonhap news agency
reported.
"They will be looking at charges of obstruction of
justice, illegal entry into buildings and violations of military facility
protection laws," Yun said.
The 150 individuals include senior prosecutors at the CIO,
acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young and acting
Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho.
Yoon's legal team accused them of mobilising police special
forces to execute the court warrant, although they do not have the legal
authority to control police.
Some staff members of the Presidential Security Service were
injured while preventing the investigation team from entering the military
security facility by breaking through the main gate of Yoon's residence, it
said.
Yoon's side also argued that the police and defence ministry
neglected their duties by defying the requests from the Presidential security
and acting President Choi Sang-mok to ramp up security around Yoon's residence
compound.
