Special counsel expected to make forcible summons against Yoon
Yoon has so far snubbed two summons by the team led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki. The team initially asked the former president to appear for questioning at the special counsel's office at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, but Yoon refused to cooperate.
The former president also rejected the first summons from the team, which asked that he appear for questioning on Tuesday. He is currently detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, over separate charges tied to his failed Dec. 3 martial law.
Assistant special counsel Moon Hong-ju shared in a briefing the previous day that the team is "considering compulsory investigation, as well as requesting an arrest warrant," if Yoon fails to appear for Wednesday's questioning. Moon added that the team had not received any updates from the detention center regarding Yoon's health issues.
Yoon's legal representative reportedly stated that the former president's health is in poor condition, citing severe aggravation of his diabetes and eye conditions.
The special counsel team intends to question the former president over allegations of violating the Public Official Election Act.
The controversy centers around Yoon's ties to self-proclaimed power broker and pollster Myung Tae-kyun. Myung allegedly asked the former president — then a presidential candidate — to help ensure former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun's nomination for the 2022 by-elections. In return, Myung allegedly conducted favourable polls for then-presidential candidate Yoon free of charge ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Former first lady Kim is suspected of being involved in the nomination process as well.
Also subject to the probe led by special prosecutor Min, is Yoon's alleged false statement made during a People Power Party presidential primary debate in October 2021 regarding his wife's suspected involvement in a stock manipulation scandal.
A forced summons attempt against Yoon was previously made by a separate special counsel hoping to proceed with its investigation in mid-July.
The separate special counsel team — led by Cho Eun-suk and investigating Yoon's alleged insurrection and treason — requested that correctional authorities bring Yoon to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office for questioning on July 14.
The Seoul Detention Center notified the special counsel team that it was unable to carry out the forcible summons, as Yoon decided not to cooperate and refused to leave his cell.
The special counsel team also explained that it was difficult for Seoul Detention Center personnel to use physical force given Yoon's status as a former president.
The former president has not made any public appearances since being taken back into custody and becoming an inmate at the Seoul Detention Center on July 10.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
36 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
Will ex-PM Han be another Cabinet member to be detained?
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attended a questioning Tuesday to comply with a summons by special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team tasked with investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection and treason. Han, who was summoned as a suspect, arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office at approximately 9:25 a.m. and entered the building without answering questions. Reporters asked whether he maintained his position that he neither participated nor supported Yoon's alleged insurrection. The former prime minister briefly said, 'Thank you for your hard work.' While the special counsel reportedly questioned Han on his alleged role in former President Yoon's martial law declaration on Dec. 3, Tuesday's summons is seen as an effort to build the case ahead of a possible detention of the former prime minister. Han is suspected of both failing to prevent and potentially facilitating the unconstitutional imposition of martial law. According to the Constitution and Government Organization Act, the prime minister supervises ministries on behalf of the president and oversees the ministers' actions. Any proposal made by the defense minister and interior minister to declare martial law must go through the prime minister before it reaches the president. Since Han was in a position involving him in the decision-making process before and after the martial law declaration as the vice chair of the Cabinet meeting, the special counsel team views him as one of the key figures in the alleged insurrection. Han was previously named as an accomplice who attempted to prepare false public documents. According to the special counsel team, former President Yoon fabricated an official martial law document on Dec. 5, two days after declaring martial law. Although the National Assembly lifted martial law within hours, Han and then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun reportedly backdated the document to make Yoon's declaration appear legally proper. Kang Eui-gu, who at the time was a secretary at the presidential office and drafted the document, reportedly testified in the special counsel investigation that the document was discarded at Han's request and upon Yoon's approval. The decision violated Article 82 of the Constitution, which stipulates that acts of the president under law be executed in writing and that such documents should be signed by the prime minister and Cabinet members concerned. The special counsel team has raised the additional suspicion that Han called former then-ruling People Power Party floor leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho to interfere with the National Assembly's effort to lift the martial law declaration. Han is also accused of perjury for allegedly claiming during his testimony to the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly that he was unaware of the martial law declaration in printed form until after the decree was lifted. The special counsel team had previously summoned Han in early July and carried out search and seizure operations at his and Kang's residences on July 24. If the team applies for a warrant to detain the former prime minister and the court grants it, Han will be the third Cabinet member of the Yoon administration to be detained regarding martial law-related matters after former Defense Minister Kim and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
12,000 Koreans sue ex-President Yoon, wife over martial law
First lawsuit filed to jointly hold Yoon, Kim accountable for alleged abuse of emergency powers More than 12,000 South Koreans are filing a damages suit against former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, claiming they suffered psychologically from Yoon's controversial declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. This is the first lawsuit to name both Yoon and Kim as co-defendants over the incident. More plaintiffs are expected to join the case. Attorney Kim Kyoung-ho, representing the plaintiffs, said he submitted the complaint to the Seoul Central District Court on Monday. Each plaintiff is demanding 100,000 won ($72) in compensation for emotional distress. Kim, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, told The Korea Herald in a phone interview that the people's psychological distress stems from the fear and disillusionment caused by what they see as illegal seizure of state power. 'By unlawfully declaring martial law and paralyzing the functions of the National Assembly, the defendants instilled in people the fear that South Korea was veering toward dictatorship,' he said. Kim explained that the situation evoked memories of the unlawful martial law imposed under Chun Doo-hwan in 1980, triggering public anxiety and trauma. 'But the damage was not only retrospective,' he added. 'The Dec. 3 martial law undermined the very democracy built through the Candlelight Revolution that ousted Park Geun-hye (in 2017), shattering the dignity and self-respect of democratic citizens." In their filing, the plaintiffs argue that Yoon's declaration of martial law was not merely a matter of negligence, but a 'deliberate and unlawful act' that violated the people's constitutional rights. They claim the move was driven by personal motives, particularly to block the passage of a special counsel bill to investigate Kim Keon Hee over alleged stock manipulation and luxury gift scandals, as well as to cover up evidence related to election meddling involving Myung Tae-kyun. The lawsuit further accuses the former first lady of playing an active role, asserting that she pressured her husband to impose martial law as a way to deflect scrutiny and communicated with alleged co-conspirators. 'Kim Keon Hee served as an instigator by persistently demanding a way out of her legal troubles, which led Yoon to take the extreme step of declaring martial law,' the filing states. The mass suit comes after the Seoul Central District Court last month ruled in favor of 104 plaintiffs in a separate damages case, ordering Yoon to pay 100,000 won per person for emotional harm caused by the martial law declaration. Yoon has appealed the ruling, seeking to suspend enforcement. The court granted a stay of execution on the condition that Yoon post deposits equivalent to the damages.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Supporting steel industry, tackling probabilistic game items
Proposed Bill: Act on the Issuance and Distribution of Value-Stable Digital Assets Proposed by Rep. Ahn Do-geol (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill seeks to provide an institutional foundation for the issuance and distribution of stablecoins by introducing an authorization system for issuers, establishing requirements for the holding and management of reserve assets, and imposing public disclosure obligations on issuers. Proposed Bill: Special Act on Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Steel Industry and Transition to Green Steel Technology Proposed by Rep. Eoh Kiy-ku (Democratic Party of Korea) and Rep. Lee Sang-hwi (People Power Party) ● This bill would expand state-level support for the steel industry by establishing a Special Committee for Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Steel Industry under the President, tightening restrictions on the import and distribution of non-conforming steel products, and providing subsidies and tax incentives for the development of, or investment in, green steel technologies. Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act Proposed by Rep. Lee Jeong-heon (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill would require large content providers, such as Google and Netflix, to pay network usage fees to promote fair competition in the use and provision of domestic internet networks. Promulgated Bill: Game Industry Promotion Act Competent Authority: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ● Effective August 1, the amended law provides that game companies may be held liable for up to three times the recognized loss if they falsely disclose information about probabilistic items. Administrative Announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Competent Authority: Financial Services Commission ● The draft amendment would shift the exchanges' market surveillance system from an account-based model to an individual-based model by allowing the Korea Exchange and the Market Surveillance Commission to process data containing pseudonymized personal information, with the aim of facilitating faster and easier detection of market price manipulation and cross trading. — The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. — Ed.
