SEOUL — Indicted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol refused a summons to appear for questioning on Christmas Day, the second time he defied investigators’ demands in a week.
Investigators probing Yoon had ordered him to appear for questioning at 10 a.m. Wednesday – a demand he rejected.
The former prosecutor also failed to attend a hearing he was called to Wednesday and gave no explanation for his absence.
‘LEADER OF REPRESENTATIVES’ A protester holding a cardboard picture of South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s head with the text ‘Leader of the rebels’ at the top takes part in a protest demanding his removal outside the National Assembly in the capital Seoul on December 8, 2024. AFP FILE PHOTO
The conservative leader was stripped of his duties by parliament on December 14, following a short-lived declaration of martial law that plunged the East Asian country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Yoon faces impeachment and criminal charges of sedition, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty, in a drama that has shocked South Korea’s allies around the world.
The Corruption Investigation Bureau is expected to decide in the coming days whether to issue a third subpoena or ask a court to grant an arrest warrant to compel Yoon to appear for questioning.
He is being investigated by prosecutors, as well as a joint team of police, defense minister and anti-corruption officials, while the Constitutional Court debates the impeachment motion passed by parliament.
If approved by the court, which is required to announce its decision within six months of the impeachment, a by-election must be held within 60 days of the court’s decision.
Former President Park Geun-hye was indicted under similar circumstances, but she was only investigated after the Constitutional Court removed her from power.
South Korea’s opposition said on Tuesday it would withhold a decision to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo until later this week.
The opposition Democratic Party earlier said it would introduce an impeachment motion against Han to protest the interim leader’s refusal to sign special bills to investigate Yoon.
