Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, made his court appearance for the first time on Saturday.
The hearing will determine whether to continue his imprisonment as investigators look into his unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law.
Yoon, who has maintained that his arrest was unlawful, caused upheaval in the country on December 3 when he tried to suspend civilian government, claiming that “anti-state elements” posed a threat.
According to AFP reporters, Yoon’s ardent fans gathered outside the court building on Saturday and even attempted to encircle the blue van that was transporting the suspended leader.
Despite the president ordering soldiers to invade parliament to stop them, MPs voted down Yoon’s martial law proposal after it was only in place for six hours.
After being impeached by parliament, Yoon hid in his secured home for weeks and eluded arrest until being apprehended on Wednesday in a dawn raid.
During the first 48 hours that investigators were permitted to hold him, Yoon, the first sitting president of South Korea to be arrested, has refused to cooperate.
Investigators, however, asked for a new warrant on Friday to keep the embattled president in arrest.
The request was scheduled to be reviewed by a judge at Seoul Western District Court at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT), and her ruling was anticipated either on Saturday evening or early on Sunday.
The president will attend “with the intention of restoring his honour,” Yoon Kab-keun, Yoon’s attorney, told AFP before to the hearing.
The fresh warrant, if granted, would probably prolong Yoon’s incarceration by 20 days, allowing the prosecution to formally file an indictment.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) is investigating Yoon for insurrection; if convicted, he faces a life sentence in prison or the death penalty.
Yoon stated on Wednesday that he did not acknowledge the legitimacy of the probe, but that he had consented to leave his complex in order to prevent “bloodshed.”
Since Friday, supporters of the president have gathered in front of the court, waving American and South Korean flags and urging the judges to reject the plea to prolong the president’s arrest.
Citing safety concerns, the court restricted its access to the public on Friday night.
Yoon has declined to respond to enquiries from investigators; according to his legal team, the president gave an explanation of his stance when he was arrested on Wednesday.
A parallel investigation at the Constitutional Court, which is considering whether to sustain the president’s impeachment, has also seen the president skip out.
Yoon will lose the presidency and elections will be held within 60 days if the court rules against him.
Even though he missed the first two hearings this week, the trial will go on without him. It might go on for months.
Even though Yoon won the 2022 presidential election, last year’s parliamentary results gave the opposition Democratic Party a majority in parliament.
With one senior official referring to the president’s detention as “the first step” to re-establishing constitutional and legal order, the Democratic Party has praised the move.
Parliament passed a measure late Friday to begin a special counsel investigation into Yoon’s unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law, as the embattled leader faces mounting obstacles.