SEOUL: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to appear for fresh questioning by investigators on Thursday, a day after his dramatic arrest over an ill-fated martial law declaration.
The constitutional court also opened its second hearing in a trial that will decide whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, following the dawn raid on Wednesday that made him the country’s first-ever sitting president to be detained.
The former star prosecutor, who faces charges of insurrection, was questioned for hours on Wednesday, but exercised his right to remain silent before being moved to a detention centre.
Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) wanted to resume Yoon’s questioning on Thursday afternoon, but his team told them he would not attend.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s representatives informed the CIO through his legal counsel around 1.50pm that there is ‘no change in his position’, indicating his intent not to appear,” the CIO said in a statement.
Lawyers confirmed the embattled leader would not attend, without specifying the reason, but told Yonhap news agency it was for health reasons.
“President Yoon is not well and fully explained his position yesterday so there is nothing more to be interrogated about,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said.
Wednesday’s dramatic arrest saw a hundreds-strong force of police and investigators bypass bus barricades, cut barbed wire and scale ladders to get inside the compound where Yoon was surrounded by hundreds of guards.
Yoon said he complied with investigators to avoid “bloodshed”, but did not accept the legality of the investigation.
Meanwhile, officials were trying to secure a new warrant that could hold him for longer than 48 hours.
If investigators successfully obtain that warrant, they are expected to be given a 20-day extension to the leader’s detention to allow time to formalise an indictment against him.
Experts say Yoon’s legal team appeared to be trying to drag out the arrest process to his benefit.
“It appears that every legal tactic is being employed by Yoon’s team to prolong the situation,” Lee Jong-soo, a law professor at Yonsei University, said.
Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2025
