SOUTH KOREA'S impeached conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from prison on Saturday, a day after a Seoul court cancelled his arrest to allow him to stand trial for rebellion without being detained.

After walking out of a detention centre near Seoul, Mr Yoon waved and bowed deeply to his supporters, who were shouting his name and waving South Korean and US flags. Mr Yoon climbed into a black van headed to his presidential residence in Seoul.

In a statement distributed by his lawyers, Mr Yoon said that he “appreciates the courage and decision by the Seoul Central District Court to correct illegality,” in an apparent reference to legal disputes over his arrest.

Mr Yoon was arrested and indicted by prosecutors in January over his December 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into huge political turmoil.

The Constitutional Court has been deliberating whether to formally dismiss or reinstate Mr Yoon. If the court upholds his impeachment, a national election will be held to find his successor within two months.

The Seoul Central District Court said on Friday that it accepted Mr Yoon’s request to be released from prison, citing the need to address questions over the legality of the investigations on the president.

His lawyers have accused the investigative agency that detained him before his formal arrest of lacking legal authority to probe rebellion charges.

The Seoul court also said the legal period of his formal arrest expired before he was indicted.

Mr Yoon’s release came after prosecutors decided not to appeal the decision by the Seoul court. South Korean law allows prosecutors to continue to hold a suspect while pursuing an appeal, even after his or her arrest is cancelled by a court.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led Mr Yoon’s December 14 impeachment, lashed out at the prosecutors’ decision, calling them “henchmen” of Mr Yoon, a former prosecutor general.

Party spokesperson Cho Seung Rae urged the Constitutional Court to dismiss Mr Yoon as soon as possible to avoid further public unrest and anxiety.