SEOUL, Jan 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk 
Yeol had his mug shot taken and underwent a physical check before spending 
his first night in jail as a criminal suspect, a prison officer said Monday.

Yoon was arrested in a dawn raid last week, becoming the first sitting South 
Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe on insurrection 
charges over his botched declaration of martial law.

A court approved his formal arrest warrant Sunday, citing concerns he would 
destroy evidence, and Yoon went from being a temporary detainee to a criminal 
suspect facing an indictment and trial.

Yoon was given a 12-square-meter (129-square-feet) cell at Seoul Detention 
Center in Uiwang on Sunday, according to Shin Yong-hae, commissioner general 
of the Korea Correctional Service.

He was "assigned to one of the standard rooms used by regular inmates," Shin 
told lawmakers during a parliamentary session.

Yoon's cell -- which typically would hold five or six people, Yonhap reported 
-- is similar in size to those where past presidents have been detained, Shin 
said.

The suspended leader, whose powers have been transferred to an acting 
president but who remains sitting head of state, also had his mug shot taken 
and underwent physical examination like his fellow inmates, Shin said.

"The individual cooperated well with the procedures without any particular 
issues," Shin said.

According to prison regulations, Yoon will have to change from his normal 
clothes into a khaki prison uniform, and he will also have been assigned an 
inmate number.

Prison officials have said his cell includes a small table to use for eating 
and studying, a small shelf, a sink and a toilet. It also includes a 
television, but viewing time is strictly restricted.

Inmates are allowed to go out for an hour every day for exercise, and shower 
once a week, but local media have reported that authorities will attempt to 
prevent him coming into contact with other inmates.

His personal security detail will accompany him whenever he leaves his cell, 
reports say.

- Court attack -

Yoon plunged South Korea into political chaos with his December 3 martial law 
declaration, which lasted just six hours before lawmakers voted it down. They 
later impeached him, stripping him of duties.

He faces a Constitutional Court case deciding whether to uphold his 
impeachment, and also a criminal investigation on insurrection charges, over 
which he has been detained.

Yoon has claimed the probe is illegal, and resisted arrest for weeks, vowing 
to "fight to the end". His die-hard supporters attacked the court building 
Sunday after it extended Yoon's detention.

Dozens of people, including YouTube streamers, have been arrested over a riot 
at a Seoul court, police said Monday, and 51 police officers were injured in 
the attack, including some with head injuries and fractures.

Up to 35,000 of his supporters were outside the court Saturday, according to 
a police document seen by AFP.

After the formal arrest warrant was issued early Sunday, some 300 people 
gathered near the rear entrance and began "throwing objects such as glass 
bottles, rocks, and chairs into the court grounds," according to the police 
report.

"Some 100 protesters entered the court premises, smashing windows of the 
first floor, damaging the walls and entering inside the building," said the 
police.

Yoon declined to attend questioning Monday, his lawyers said, with the 
Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) -- the body in charge of the probe -- 
saying it would consider a "forced summons".