South Korea’s impeached Yoon gets mugshot, solitary cell during first night in jail

South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol had his mugshot taken and underwent a physical check before spending his first night in jail as a criminal suspect, a prison officer said on 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 inquiry on insurrection charges over his botched declaration of martial law.

A court approved his formal arrest warrant on 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-metre (129-square-foot) 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.