President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrested on charges including treason, heads to Seoul Detention Center in a transport vehicle after completing a pre-arrest hearing at Seoul Western District Court in Mapo, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Simon

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has prohibited non-legal visits to President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was arrested on Sunday.

According to sources, the CIO issued an order to Seoul Detention Center on the same day, citing concerns over evidence tampering. Under South Korea's Criminal Procedure Code, visits by non-legal representatives can be restricted if there is a risk of evidence destruction or escape.

As a result, Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, is also barred from visiting him. However, the CIO did not restrict the sending or receiving of letters.

Yoon was arrested early on Sunday on charges of treason as a leader of the alleged conspiracy and abuse of power. He is accused of blocking the National Assembly, obstructing the revocation of martial law, operating arrest squads for key figures, and attempting to seize servers from the National Election Commission before and after the declaration of martial law.

The arrest warrant, issued by Judge Cha Eun-kyung of the Seoul Western District Court at 2:50 a.m. after a nearly 13-hour pretrial detention hearing, cited concerns of evidence tampering.

A similar restriction was previously imposed on former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was arrested last month on charges related to martial law activities. The prosecution barred him from receiving visitors or sending and receiving letters.

Kim challenged the order by filing a quasi-appeal on Saturday, but the Seoul Central District Court dismissed it on Jan. 7. A quasi-appeal is a legal procedure requesting the court to cancel or modify the prosecution's decisions regarding detention or seizure.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.