On March 7, the Seoul Central District Court's 25th Criminal Division (Chief Judge Ji Gwi-hyun) cancelled the arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was indicted for treason. In response to this decision, Kwak Byung-seon, an advisor to the Jeonbuk Regional Joint Promotion Committee (former president of Gunsan National University, former president of the Korean Law Association), commented that this decision overturns existing legal interpretation and practical customs, posing a significant risk to legal stability.

The key issue was whether the prosecution filed charges after the expiration of the detention period. According to Article 214-2, Paragraph 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the period from when the investigation documents are received by the court for detention review to when they are returned is not included in the detention period. The problem was whether to calculate this in 'days' or 'hours'.

The prosecution argued that it should be calculated in 'days' according to existing precedents and practical customs. According to this, the detention period of former President Yoon was from January 15 to January 23, and due to the detention review, an additional 3 days from January 17 to January 19 were added, extending the final period to midnight on January 26. Therefore, they argued that filing charges at 6:52 PM on January 26 was legal.

However, the court ruled that the detention period expired at 9:07 AM on January 26, applying the 'hour' unit and excluding 33 hours and 7 minutes from 5:46 PM on January 17 to 2:53 AM on January 19. According to this logic, the time when the prosecution filed charges is considered after the end of the detention period, and therefore, the detention was cancelled.

In response, Advisor Kwak Byung-seon strongly criticized, saying, "This decision outright rejects the principle of 'day' standard calculation stipulated in Article 66, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act," and "It is a judge's arbitrary decision that destroys the legal interpretation and practical customs that have been maintained for over 70 years." Kwak continued, "Legal stability is guaranteed when the law is applied on the same standard to all citizens, but this decision broke consistency by applying a new calculation method only in a specific case."

Furthermore, Advisor Kwak Byung-seon pointed out that there is a problem with the principle of legal justice. He emphasized, "The average justice mentioned in Aristotle's 'Nicomachean Ethics' is applied on the same standard to everyone, but this decision was interpreted in a direction favorable only to the specific defendant, Yoon Seok-yeol."

The Jeonbuk Regional Joint Promotion Committee (represented by Kim Hak-san) added to Advisor Kwak's comment, announcing a statement that the law and principles must be set right through a swift impeachment trial and re-imprisonment of Yoon Seok-yeol. They pointed out, "The decision to cancel the arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol has caused serious shock to the South Korean judicial system, raising serious questions about whether judicial justice is being properly realized."

They also criticized, "The situation where Yoon Seok-yeol, who was arrested as a national traitor, is released due to an error in the calculation of the detention period can hardly be seen as a simple mistake, and can be interpreted as a result of deliberately distorting the legal procedure."

The Jeonbuk Regional Joint Promotion Committee emphasized that despite the necessity of securing Yoon Seok-yeol's new military service for the realization of judicial justice, releasing a treason suspect has left a serious wound on the rule of law. They warned that the situation after Yoon Seok-yeol's release is causing national confusion and a collapse of trust beyond a simple legal judgment.

Therefore, the court argued that it needs to make a detention decision on its own by comprehensively considering the possibility of the defendant's destruction of evidence and interference with the trial. They also expressed concern that the delay in the impeachment trial of Yoon Seok-yeol would further intensify the confusion in national affairs.

"The Constitutional Court should make a swift decision without unnecessary delays, and through this, it should deliver a stern legal judgment against the forces that incited treason," they emphasized, "South Korea is a constitutional state where the law must be fair to everyone. The prosecution and judiciary should not betray the legal trust of the people, and should swiftly conclude the impeachment trial and secure Yoon Seok-yeol's new military service to set the law and principles right."