SEOUL, South Korea – Arrested South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol failed to appear for a second day of questioning by investigative authorities on Thursday, further obstructing a criminal investigation into whether he committed rebellion by imposing martial law.
Yoon became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested on Wednesday and was taken to the Seoul Detention Center after refusing to cooperate. He remained at the center Thursday, and his lawyer said his health was a factor.
Authorities have 48 hours to question the suspended president, after which they must either release him or apply for a detention warrant for up to 20 days.
Yun’s refusal to cooperate with investigators comes as the Constitutional Court held a second hearing in his impeachment trial to decide whether to permanently remove him from office or restore his presidential powers. This was in response to the incident.
South Korea is facing its worst political crisis in decades, starting with Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3, which was rejected by parliament.
In opening arguments at the Constitutional Court, opposition Democratic Party members accused Yoon of the “December 3 riot,” saying he and a small number of his supporters had tried to cause chaos by refusing to accept an arrest warrant. .
Chung Chun-rae, chairman of the National Assembly’s Legislative and Judiciary Committee, said, “This impeachment trial will determine whether or not to reinstate such a person to the position of supreme commander in charge of the military.”
In response, one of Yun’s lawyers said that the purpose of his impeachment was not to defend the Constitution, but rather that the opposition party was “using the power of the majority in Congress to usurp the presidential position.” He said that he is doing so.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, used its majority in Congress to pass a vote to impeach Yoon, but about 12 members of Yoon’s party also voted in favor of impeachment.
Cho Dae-hyun, Yoon’s lawyer, said the suspended president’s decision to declare martial law was made in good faith based on his view that the country is in a state of emergency.
Bae Jin-han, another of Yoon’s lawyers, quipped, “These days, some people say, “If you take a breath, you will be impeached.”
Yoon’s arrest on Wednesday ended a weeks-long standoff with authorities after police raided a fortified villa on a hillside in Seoul before dawn, to the dismay of believers at the scene.
Yun said he appeared for questioning by anti-corruption authorities to avoid the risk of “unpleasant bloodshed,” but continued to protest that this was an illegal investigation and an invalid arrest warrant.
The embattled leader has so far refused to meet with investigators, who wrote more than 200 pages of questionnaires, according to officials at the Office of Corruption Investigation (CIO), which is leading the criminal investigation.
His interrogation was scheduled to resume at 2:00 pm (12:00 am Eastern time) on Thursday, but the CIO said he had been informed by Mr. Yoon that he would not be attending.
Yonhap News quoted one of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-geun, as saying that the suspended president’s health was a contributing factor, and that further questioning was pointless. I didn’t mention it.
A small group of demonstrators supporting Yun gathered and sat on the road outside the CIO office, calling the president’s arrest unjust.
His lawyers said the arrest warrant was illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal authority to do so. he claimed.
They also asked another court to consider the legality of the arrest. Yun’s 48-hour arrest period will be temporarily suspended pending a court review, the CIO said.
His defense team denied Mr. Yoon’s charge of masterminding the rebellion, a crime punishable by life imprisonment or technically the death penalty in South Korea.
The last time the death penalty was carried out in South Korea was in 1997, for criminal offenses such as murder.
