The special counsel team led by Jo Eun-seok, which is investigating the case related to former President Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law declaration on December 3 last year, has secured the custody of Yoon (pictured), marking a major breakthrough just 22 days after launching the investigation.

With the court issuing an arrest warrant for Yoon, citing not only concerns over evidence destruction but also sufficient substantiation of the alleged crimes, the special counsel team has gained significant momentum.

On July 10, the Kyunghyang Shinmun learned that the central legal issues at the pretrial detention hearing held the previous day at Seoul Central District Court included the legal basis for the first and second arrest warrant obstruction attempts, and the concern over destruction of evidence as grounds for detention.

Presiding judge Nam Se-jin reportedly questioned Yoon in court on whether he had instructed Presidential Security Service staff to display firearms, whether he had ordered the deletion of secure phone records, and how the drafting and disposal of the post-facto martial law declaration document occurred.

Although Yoon denied all allegations during the hearing, Judge Nam issued the arrest warrant, stating there was "reasonable cause to suspect that the suspect committed the crimes described in the warrant."

On the issue of evidence destruction, the special counsel team argued persuasively that Yoon had attempted to tamper with evidence by pressuring key figures involved in the case and by ordering the deletion of secure phone records. Yoon’s legal team claimed he had “no power whatsoever” after stepping down from office, but this defense was rejected by the court.

With the special counsel team now holding the key figure at the center of the alleged rebellion and foreign aggression conspiracy, the investigation is expected to gain further traction. The team summoned Yoon for questioning at 2 p.m. on July 11.

Deputy special counsel Park Ji-young emphasized during a briefing that Yoon will be treated “just like any other suspect.” If Yoon, who is currently being held in a detention center, refuses to cooperate with the investigation, the team may consider forcibly bringing him in for questioning.

The special counsel team also plans to begin a full-scale investigation into allegations of foreign aggression, including suspicions that Yoon instructed the deployment of drones over Pyongyang to fabricate grounds for declaring martial law. While this charge was not included in the current arrest warrant, it is considered a key focus of the investigation due to its seriousness and lack of thorough inquiry by police.

The team is not ruling out the possibility of indicting Yoon within the 10-day detention period, without seeking an extension.

Further investigations are also expected to accelerate into alleged co-conspirators in the rebellion. Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former presidential secretary Kang Eui-gu were named as accomplices in the arrest warrant application. Other figures under scrutiny include former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who attended a secret meeting on December 4, the day after the martial law declaration.