South Korea’s Yoon given until Dec 21 to appear for questioning: Report

SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors on Dec 17 told impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to appear by the weekend for questioning over his failed martial law bid or face possible arrest, the Yonhap news agency said.

Mr Yoon, suspended from office by Parliament

on Dec 14, is being investigated over alleged insurrection by both South Korean prosecutors and a joint team of police, Defence Ministry and anti-corruption investigators.

The President and some members of his inner circle face possible life imprisonment, or even the death penalty, if found guilty.

He remains under a travel ban.

On Dec 17, prosecutors warned Mr Yoon to appear for questioning over the martial law bid by Dec 21 or face a potential arrest warrant, Yonhap said, citing the prosecution.

The joint investigation unit launched a raid on Mr Yoon’s security service in an attempt to obtain phone records, the news agency said.

The unit previously asked the suspended President to appear to answer questions on Dec 18 but was rebuffed by his office, an official told reporters.

Investigators requested that Mr Yoon appear at the office at 10am (9am Singapore time) for questioning on charges of insurrection and abuse of power, they said.

But the summons “was returned as ‘undelivered’” by the presidential office, they said in a statement.

“The identity of the person who refused to accept it is unknown,” they added.

Turmoil

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Dec 16 began proceedings against Mr Yoon and has around six months to determine whether to uphold his impeachment.

A spokeswoman for the court said that judges had pencilled in a preliminary hearing on Dec 27, which Mr Yoon is not required to attend.

Mr Yoon was removed by South Korea’s Parliament on Dec 14 over his

short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule

, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in years.

Fresh elections must be held within two months if his removal is upheld by the Constitutional Court.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as interim leader in Mr Yoon’s stead.

Large protests against the ousted leader, with smaller rallies supporting him, have rocked the South Korean capital since his short-lived Dec 3 martial law decree.

Demonstrators in both camps have vowed to keep up the pressure as the Constitutional Court considers Mr Yoon’s fate.

On the night of Dec 16, hundreds of South Koreans held a vigil in central Seoul calling for his formal removal.

“I came here again, hoping that we will never have a president like this again,” Mr Kim Chan-suk, 67, told AFP at the rally.

“I am coming out every day to continue the fight until the Constitutional Court makes its ruling,” said 52-year-old protester Han Myung-hak. AFP