Yoon is widely expected to be allocated a room by himself at the Seoul Detention Centre. - Photo: Bloomberg
SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spent his first night behind bars at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, as the first sitting president in the country’s history to be put behind bars while under criminal investigation.
It was reported that he is being kept alone in a waiting room for suspects, a 19 sq m area where suspects are temporarily held.
The current detention warrant allows for him to be kept in custody for up to 48 hours, in other words until around 10.30am on Friday (Jan 17).
If an extension of his detention is allowed with an official arrest warrant, he may be moved to a regular cell, where he could be locked up for up to 20 days before indictment.
While it is customary for correctional facilities and detention centers here to have multiple inmates share a room, former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak were kept in a room by themselves when they were incarcerated.
As such, Yoon is widely expected to be allocated a room by himself at the Seoul Detention Center, if the court issues a warrant to continue his detention beyond the current 48 hours.
Yoon refused making or signing any type of statement during interrogation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.
He reportedly ate a lunchbox provided by the CIO for lunch and doenjang-jjigae (fermented soybean paste stew) the agency ordered for him for dinner on Jan 15.
Since Jan 16 breakfast, he has been given the meals provided for all inmates in the Seoul Detention Center, starting the day with cereal, boiled eggs, nuts and milk.
The Presidential Security Service plans to guard Yoon for the entire time he is being held at the detention center.
Officials followed him as he was taken there, and were seen entering the center supposedly to examine the structure and identify any potential risks in the facility.
The presidential bodyguards and Seoul Detention Center officials plan to discuss the details of guarding Yoon, the specifics of which will reportedly not be made public. - The Korea Herald/ANN
