Seoul: A Seoul court issued a detention warrant for jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, paving the way for investigators to forcibly bring him in for questioning after he repeatedly snubbed summonses.
According to Yonhap News Agency, special counsel Min Joong-ki's team requested the warrant the previous day after Yoon, who is under arrest over his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, defied two summonses to appear for questioning this week. Min's team is investigating allegations that Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, meddled in nominating candidates for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through a self-proclaimed power broker, Myung Tae-kyun. Yoon's lawyers have said the former president is unable to comply with the summonses because of his deteriorating health.
To execute the warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, Min's team is reportedly considering sending an assistant special counsel and a prosecutor to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, where Yoon has been held since July 10. This is the second time a detention warrant has been issued for Yoon. In January, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials detained Yoon at the official presidential residence under a court-issued warrant and took him to the same detention center where he was held until his surprise release in March. At the time he was arrested on charges of leading an insurrection through his martial law attempt.
Even if Yoon is forcibly brought to the interrogation room, there is skepticism he will comply with the questioning. He and his wife are suspected of receiving free opinion polls from Myung ahead of the 2022 presidential election in exchange for securing the nomination of former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election later that year. Min's team is also looking into whether Yoon violated the election law by making false statements about his wife's suspected involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme during the presidential primaries in 2021. The team has been tasked with investigating 19 criminal allegations against the former first lady.