South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol defies summons in martial law probe

SEOUL – Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 1 risked another attempt at arresting him by skipping questioning by a special prosecutor investigating his

December declaration of martial law

, prompting the prosecutor to issue a new summons for Saturday.

Yoon said he did not go to the July 1 appointment because he needed to prepare for a hearing later this week in an ongoing case.

After Yoon failed to appear, the special prosecutor ordered the former president to attend questioning on July 5.

Yoon was ousted in April by the Constitutional Court, which upheld his impeachment by Parliament for a martial law bid that shocked a country that had prided itself on becoming a thriving democracy after overcoming military dictatorship in the 1980s.

Through his lawyers, Yoon, a powerful former top prosecutor elected president in 2022, has accused the special counsel of going on a politically-motivated “witch-hunt”, describing as illegal some of the tactics used against him.

Yoon’s lawyers did not immediately comment on the new summons, but Yonhap news agency said Yoon was expected to attend with his lawyers asking prosecutors for a formal attendance request.

On June 30, Yoon's lawyers said July 5 was the earliest he would be able to appear, citing a trial court hearing on insurrection charges set for July 3 that he must attend and his rights as a defendant to rest and prepare.

A spokesperson for the special prosecutor's team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yoon has been locked in an unprecedented wrangle with the authorities over the investigation by the special counsel appointed in June, which ratcheted up prior efforts by state prosecutors and the police to investigate his martial law attempt.

During

Yoon's first appearance on June 28

, questioning was interrupted for several hours after he objected to procedures he said violated his rights.

The special prosecutor’s team said on July 1 that if Yoon did not appear for questioning on July 5, the court might grant an arrest warrant for him, according to Yonhap.

Analysts and some members of Yoon's conservative People Power Party have questioned his intentions, since he was a lead prosecutor in the 2017 graft investigation and prosecution of former president Park Geun-hye.

Two other special prosecutors were appointed in June to sift accusations of wrongdoing by Yoon's wife and obstruction by the presidential office of an investigation into the death of a marine in 2023. REUTERS