South Korea’s arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to attend a second day of questioning by investigators on Thursday, further stonewalling a criminal probe into whether he committed insurrection with his bid to impose martial law.
Yoon remained in detention centre, where his lawyer cited his health as the reason for his absence. The investigators did not elaborate on why they did not compel him to attend. Authorities have 48 hours to question Yoon or seek a new detention warrant.
The constitutional court held a second hearing in Yoon’s impeachment trial to determine whether to remove him permanently or reinstate his presidential powers. South Korea is grappling with its worst political crisis in decades, sparked by Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law on December 3 that was voted down by parliament.
Yoon’s lawyers have denied he masterminded an insurrection, a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even technically by the death penalty. Opinion polls conducted by Realmeter show 73.6% supported Yoon’s impeachment, while his ruling party’s support has risen to 40.8%.
The arrest of Yoon ended a weeks-long standoff with authorities after police swooped in on his fortified hillside villa in Seoul. Yoon said he turned himself in for questioning to prevent “unsavoury bloodshed”, but continued to protest that it was an illegal investigation and invalid arrest warrant.
A small crowd of protesters supporting Yoon gathered outside the Corruption Investigation Office, calling the president’s arrest illegitimate. His lawyers have filed a complaint over the arrest warrant with the prosecutors’ office against the CIO chief and some police officials.
The political crisis has reverberated across Asia’s fourth-largest economy and piled pressure on the won currency. The central bank governor said that the most important factor determining the health of the economy in coming months was whether the political chaos stabilised.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-anti-corruption-agency-resume-questioning-yoon-thursday-afternoon-2025-01-15