Seoul: A special counsel team investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid has initiated steps to compel his appearance for questioning. This comes after Yoon once again refused to comply with a summons on Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yoon, who has been detained at the Seoul Detention Center since his second arrest last Thursday, declined to present himself at the special counsel's office for questioning at the designated time of 2 p.m. In response, assistant special counsel Park Ji-young announced during a press briefing that an official request had been sent to the head of the Seoul Detention Center, urging them to bring Yoon to the interrogation room at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office by 3:30 p.m. Park emphasized that although Yoon, currently under detention, has no right to refuse questioning, he retains the right to remain silent.
Yoon's legal team previously stated that he would not attend the questioning, referencing a submitted statement of absence and maintaining that "there has been no change" in the circumstances. Initially summoned for questioning scheduled for Friday afternoon, Yoon did not appear after submitting a written excuse to special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, citing health issues. However, the special counsel team confirmed with officials at the correctional facility that Yoon's health is not a barrier to his attendance.
The charges against Yoon stem from a court-issued warrant for his arrest over five key allegations. These include violating the rights of Cabinet members by selectively calling only a few to a meeting just before declaring martial law on December 3. Cho's team accuses the former president of fabricating a false martial law declaration document post-December 3 to legitimize his actions, and having it signed by then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before discarding it. Additionally, Yoon is accused of directing the presidential spokesperson for foreign press to disseminate false statements after the martial law attempt, instructing the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to obstruct his detention by investigators in early January, and ordering the PSS to delete call records from secure phones used by three military commanders.
This marks the second occasion of Yoon's arrest. The first was in January while he was still in office, though a court later accepted his request to cancel the arrest, resulting in his release in March.