South Korea's ex-leader Yoon returns to jail as martial law probe accelerates

By Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) -Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was back in a solitary jail cell on Thursday with basic food and a khaki prison uniform after prosecutors secured a new detention warrant over his bid to impose martial law last year.

The Seoul Central District Court's decision to approve the warrant bolstered the special counsel investigation into allegations that Yoon's move in December represented obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

The court said in a statement it granted the request because of concerns Yoon could seek to destroy evidence, returning him to confinement at the Seoul Detention Center where he spent 52 days earlier in the year before being released four months ago on technical grounds.

He moved back with his wife and his 11 dogs and cats to their 164 square metre (1,765 square feet) apartment in an upscale district of Seoul. The couple's net worth is estimated at 7.5 billion won ($5.47 million), according to a government filing.

But Yoon will now be housed in a 10 square-metre solitary cell, have to wear a two-piece khaki-coloured uniform and sleep on a foldable mattress on the floor without an air conditioner, an official at the detention centre and media reports said.

With a heat wave gripping the country, Yoon will have to rely on a small electric fan that switches off at night, Park Jie-won, an opposition lawmaker who had been incarcerated there, said on a YouTube talk show.

The detention facility served a breakfast of steamed potatoes and mini cheese breads for inmates on Thursday, another official said.

The conservative politician faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law decree, which could carry a sentence of life in prison or death.

YOON SKIPS COURT HEARING

Hours after he ended up in jail, the court held a hearing on Thursday morning for his insurrection trial, but Yoon did not attend.

His lawyers told the court that he was unable to go to the hearing due to health issues, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Constitutional Court ousted Yoon as president in April, upholding parliament's impeachment for the martial law bid, which shocked South Koreans and triggered months of political turmoil.

The special prosecution team launched its investigation after new leader Lee Jae Myung was elected in June, and has been looking into additional charges against Yoon.

The special counsel team, made up of more than 200 prosecutors and investigators, is now expected to speed up its probe into allegations, including whether Yoon hurt South Korea's interests by intentionally inflaming tensions with North Korea.

The team plans to question Yoon on Friday, informing his wife and lawyers about his detention via letters, Park Ji-young, a deputy to the special counsel, told reporters on Thursday.

National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said Yoon’s detention should help in the mission to determine the truth behind the martial law crisis and restore democracy.

"No one is above the law," Woo said in a Facebook post.

Yoon attended the court hearing on Wednesday on the detention warrant, wearing a dark navy suit and a red tie, but did not answer questions from reporters.

His lawyers have denied the allegations against him and called the detention request an unreasonable move in a hasty investigation.

More than 1,000 supporters rallied near the court on Wednesday, local media reported, waving flags and signs and chanting Yoon's name in searing 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) heat.

In their warrant request, prosecutors said Yoon poses a flight risk, local media reported.

($1 = 1,371.9000 won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Ju-min Park, Urvi DugarEditing by Ed Davies, Cynthia Osterman, and Saad Sayeed)