Deposed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday again refused to appear for questioning over his failed attempt to impose martial law, the investigation team said.
Yoon Suk Yeol was summoned on Wednesday at 10 a.m. (2 a.m. in Switzerland) by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) in Gwacheon, in the suburbs of Seoul, which is centralizing investigations into his December 3 coup. But he never showed up.
This is the second time that President Yoon, a former prosecutor, has refused to obey subpoenas from investigators. He had snubbed a first summons on December 18. In both cases, the summons letters were returned to the sender after being refused. The IOC now has the choice between sending a third summons to Yoon Suk Yeol and having him appear by force, by requesting a warrant to bring him to a court.
Dismissed by Parliament on December 14, the deposed president is currently suspended while waiting for the Constitutional Court to validate or not the decision of the deputies, and is prohibited from leaving the country.
He is the target of an investigation for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death, for having imposed martial law on December 3 and sending the army to Parliament to try to muzzle him, before backtracking for a few hours later under pressure from deputies and the street.
According to South Korean media, the sixty-year-old also refuses to acknowledge receipt of the summons sent to him by the Constitutional Court, which will hold a first hearing on his case on Friday. The Court has six months to confirm or overturn the president's impeachment. If she opts for the first solution, a presidential election will have to take place within two months.
