S. Korea’s ex-president Yoon defies summons in martial law probe

SEOUL, July 1 — Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol skipped questioning today by a special prosecutor investigating his December declaration of martial law, citing the need to prepare for a later hearing despite the risk of arrest.

Yoon was ousted in April by the Constitutional Court, which upheld his impeachment by Parliament for a martial law bid that shocked a country, which prides itself on becoming a thriving democracy after overcoming military dictatorship in the 1980s.

Through his lawyers, Yoon, a powerful former top prosecutor elected president in 2022, has accused the special counsel of going on a politically-motivated “witch hunt”, describing as illegal some of the tactics used against him.

Yesterday, Yoon’s lawyers said Saturday is the earliest he would be able to appear, citing a trial court hearing on insurrection charges set for Thursday that he must attend and his rights as a defendant to rest and prepare.

A spokesperson for the special prosecutor’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Media reported the team has said it will issue another summons for this week.

Yoon has been locked in an unprecedented wrangle with authorities over the investigation by the special counsel appointed in June, which ratcheted up prior efforts by state prosecutors and police to investigate his martial law attempt.

During Yoon’s first appearance on June 28, questioning was interrupted for several hours after he objected to procedures he said violated his rights.

The special prosecutor has said the team would consider action under the criminal code, which analysts and media said probably means an arrest, though the team did not confirm that.

Analysts and some members of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party have questioned his intentions, since he was a lead prosecutor in the 2017 graft investigation and prosecution of former president Park Geun-hye.

Two other special prosecutors were appointed in June to sift accusations of wrongdoing by Yoon’s wife and obstruction by the presidential office of an investigation into the death of a marine in 2023.

— Reuters