South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who lawmakers voted to impeach and was indicted on criminal charges for declaring martial law last December, was cleared to be released from detention on Friday.

TV footage showed Mr Yoon coming out of a prison in Seoul, waving his hand and bowing to his supporters. The president declared martial law in December, throwing South Korea into turmoil. He banned political activity and sent armed soldiers inside the parliament, which nonetheless reversed his decision within six hours.

The initial decision to release Yoon from detention in his criminal case comes as a verdict approaches in his impeachment trial

“The whole situation just naturally evolved in a way that Yoon Suk Yeol became the symbol of this movement of freedom and liberal democracy, vis-a-vis communism, socialism, and tyranny,” said Lee Jung-hoon, a conservative legal scholar and dean at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

Schools near Constitutional Court consider temporary closures, shortening class hours With suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment ruling expected by mid-March, the Korean National Police Agency announced Wednesday that it will heighten security to the highest level outside the Constitutional Court when Yoon’s verdict is delivered to prevent any potential safety incidents.

South Korea's air traffic authorities will ban drones from flying around the Constitutional Court in Seoul from Thursday ahead of the ruling on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The measure will take effect from Thursday to Wednesday next week,

South Korea’s Constitutional Court could soon rule whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol

If South Korea formally impeaches its suspended president over his martial law debacle, one firebrand pastor says he is ready for "revolution".