South Korea's former President strongly resists special counsel's attempt to arrest him for questioning
SEOUL: Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has once again evaded efforts by prosecutors to enforce an arrest warrant, prompting the special counsel team to warn that physical force may be used next time.
On Friday, the team investigating former First Lady Kim Keon Hee and led by prosecutor Min Joong-ki attempted to detain Yoon at Seoul Detention Centre at around 8:30 a.m. They left empty-handed after more than two hours of confrontation.
Yoon, who is already in custody following his arrest by a separate special counsel on insurrection charges, refused to comply with the warrant execution.
Deputy Special Counsel Oh Jung-hee explained during a press briefing that Yoon lay on the floor of his detention cell without wearing his prison uniform, defiantly rejecting the arrest throughout the morning.
"Because the subject was a former president, we initially urged voluntary cooperation. However, he refused to comply and remained uncooperative,' Oh said.
The team made four separate requests with 20- to 30-minute intervals, but Yoon remained resistant. 'We refrained from using physical force out of concern for safety risks. However, we have informed the suspect that future attempts will include the use of physical means to execute the arrest," Oh added.
Oh also called on Yoon to act in accordance with the rule of law: 'As someone who has consistently emphasised fairness, common sense and legal principles, as a former prosecutor, prosecutor general and president, he should cooperate with the special counsel's investigation.' Oh stressed that the Korean people are closely watching whether the law is applied equally to all.
Earlier in the day, Special Counsel Moon Hong-joo, accompanied by a prosecutor and an investigator, personally led the arrest attempt. They reached the front of Yoon's holding cell with the assistance of correctional officers, but ultimately withdrew after Yoon refused to cooperate.
A court-issued arrest warrant allows the special counsel team to deploy its investigators to forcibly bring in a suspect for questioning if they fail to appear after being summoned. This includes suspects who are already detained. Yoon is currently detained at the detention centre following his arrest on July 10 over a separate insurrection case.
An arrest warrant was sought for Yoon after the former president snubbed the special counsel's summons to appear for questioning over his alleged illegal meddling in the 2022 by-elections.
The special counsel team had initially summoned Yoon for questioning on July 29. However, Yoon did not appear and offered no explanation for his refusal. After a second notice was sent for a July 30 appearance, which he also ignored, the team sought a court-issued arrest warrant with the Seoul Central District Court, which was granted. The warrant remains valid until Aug. 7.
Deputy Special Counsel Moon said a day earlier that the team intended to 'secure Yoon's appearance with the help of the detention centre,' making clear their intent to forcibly bring him in if necessary.
This is not the first time Yoon has defied such procedures. A separate special counsel team probing the insurrection allegations previously made three failed attempts to physically bring him in, all of which were blocked by his refusal to leave his detention cell.
Sources familiar with the matter said that no additional arrest attempt is planned for the rest of the day. - The Korea Herald/ANN
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