South Korea's court dismisses warrant to arrest ex-President Yoon

SEOUL - South Korea's court on Wednesday dismissed a warrant to arrest former President Yoon Suk-yeol, sought a day earlier by a special counsel investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition, according to multiple media outlets.

The independent counsel team of Cho Eun-suk leading the investigation into Yoon's insurrection and other charges told reporters that the Seoul Central District Court rejected the warrant issuance as the Yoon side said he will appear for questioning if the special counsel demands it.

The special prosecutor notified Yoon and his lawyer to appear for questioning at 9:00 am local time on Saturday.

Yoon rejected the third police call on June 19 to appear for questioning over his charges of ordering the presidential security service to block the attempt in January to arrest him and to delete information on security phones offered to three military commanders.

Yoon was apprehended in presidential office on Jan 15 and was indicted under detention on Jan 26 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection, but he was released on March 8 as prosecutors decided not to appeal against the court's release approval.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon on April 4 over his botched martial law bid last December, officially removing him from office.