Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was rearrested on Thursday in a major development in efforts to hold him to account for his short-lived martial law declaration last December.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a detention warrant for Yoon, citing concerns he could destroy evidence.
The decision came five hours after a gruelling seven-hour hearing involving arguments from both special prosecutors and Yoon’s legal team, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Yoon, 65, who had been held at the Seoul Detention Centre pending the court’s decision, was immediately processed following the ruling.
He was ordered to change into a drab green prison uniform, had his fingerprints and mugshot taken, and was led to a solitary 10-square-metre cell.
South Korean prison cells lack air conditioning, and the country is currently experiencing record-breaking summer heat.