South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached for declaring martial law, has been released from custody after prosecutors chose not to appeal a court decision that cancelled his arrest.
Yoon remains suspended from his job and is facing pending criminal and impeachment proceedings.
He was seen bowing to ecstatic fans carrying Korean and American flags as he came out of the Uiwang prison centre on Saturday.
His release occurred after Seoul Central District Court annulled his arrest order on Friday, citing technical and legal reasons.
The Seoul Detention Centre confirmed to CNN early on Saturday that they had received a letter from Seoul’s prosecutors’ office authorizing his release.
Yoon has been in custody since January, when he was detained on allegations of inciting an insurrection, one of the few criminal charges against which the president is not immune.
His December 3 decree threw South Korea into turmoil when he banned political activity and sent troops to the heart of the nation’s democracy – only to reverse the move within six hours after lawmakers forced their way into parliament and voted unanimously to block it.
Lawmakers have since voted to impeach him and he is now waiting for the country’s Constitutional Court to decide whether he will be removed from office permanently or be reinstated.
His impeachment trial is separate from the criminal charges he faces.
His release means that Yoon can now await the impeachment verdict, expected to come in coming weeks, from home instead of in detention.
South Korea’s main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung, said Friday that the court ruling does not clear Yoon of allegations he “destroyed the constitutional order through an unconstitutional military coup.”
