Lawyers for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed in their court effort to secure his release on Thursday, a day after he was detained at his residence for questioning over rebellion allegations linked to his martial law declaration last month. Yoon was sent to a detention center near the country’s capital, Seoul, after undergoing more than 10 hours of questioning on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, during which he exercised his right to remain silent. Yoon refused further questioning by the anti-corruption officials on Thursday as his lawyers maintained that the investigation was illegal. Lawyers had asked the Seoul Central District Court to consider his release, questioning the validity of the detention warrant for Yoon issued by the Seoul Western District Court. But the Central District Court denied their petition late Thursday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lawyers representing South Korea’s impeached president said Thursday he will refuse further questioning after being detained by anti-corruption officials over his ill-fated declaration of martial law last month, maintaining that the investigation is illegal. President Yoon Suk Yeol exercised his right to remain silent as he faced more than 10 hours of questioning on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, following a massive law enforcement operation to detain him at his official residence in Seoul. Investigators are expected to move to place him under arrest in the coming days. The anti-corruption agency, which is leading a joint investigation with the police and the military over whether Yoon’s martial law declaration amounted to attempted rebellion, has 48 hours either to request a court order for his formal arrest or to release him. Yoon’s lawyers have argued that the detention warrant issued by the Seoul Western District Court is invalid and have asked the Seoul Central District Court to consider his release. The clock for the arrest warrant is on hold while the court reviews his petition, which can take up to 48 hours. On Thursday, his lawyers formally claimed Wednesday’s raid at the presidential residence which led to the detention of a head of state was illegal, in complaints filed with prosecutors. Yoon didn’t attend a hearing at the Central District Court on Thursday, which was part of the review over his detention warrant, due to security concerns, according to Seok Dong-hyeon, one of the president’s lawyers. It was expected that the decision could come sometime during the evening. Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered in the streets near the court amid a heavy police presence, waving banners and chanting slogans calling for his release. Yoon set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s when he attempted to break through gridlock in legislation by declaring martial law and deploying troops around the National Assembly on Dec. 3. The standoff lasted only hours before lawmakers managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure. His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberating on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reject the charges and reinstate […]