(LEAD) Ex-President Yoon in custody for 2nd time over Dec. martial law bid

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SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday issued a warrant to arrest former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, placing him in custody for the second time.

Nam Se-jin, a senior judge at the Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant requested by special counsel Cho Eun-suk, citing concerns that the former president could destroy evidence.

Cho's team sought the warrant on five key charges, including Yoon's alleged violation of the rights of Cabinet members by calling only a select few to a meeting held shortly before he declared martial law on Dec. 3.

Yoon and his lawyers attended the hearing and rejected all charges before the former president was taken to Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, to await the court's decision.

Among the charges, the former president is accused of creating a false martial law declaration document after Dec. 3 to add legitimacy to his actions and having it signed by then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before discarding it.

The other charges involve his alleged instruction to the presidential spokesperson for foreign press to distribute false statements denying his intent to destroy the constitutional order through the martial law attempt, his alleged instruction to the Presidential Security Service to block his detention by investigators in early January and his alleged order to delete call records from secure phones used by three military commanders.

This is the second time Yoon has been arrested.

The first time was in January when he was still in office, but a court later accepted his request to cancel his arrest, granting his release in March.

hague@yna.co.kr
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