South Korea: Ex-President Yoon snubs questioning by special counsel in probe into ex-first lady

Seoul, July 29
Arrested South Korean former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear for questioning by a special counsel team on Tuesday over an investigation into various allegations surrounding his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Yoon, who is currently in custody at Seoul Detention Centre, south of Seoul, did not show up at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office for his scheduled appearance over allegations of him and his wife meddling in election nominations.

Yoon's side has not submitted any opinions about his non-appearance but the former president has rejected questioning by another special counsel team investigating his martial law decree, citing health reasons.

In response, Min's team notified Yoon's side for Yoon to appear for questioning at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

If Yoon continues to refuse to show up for questioning, the team may consider bringing him in by force.

Yoon is suspected of interfering in the nomination of a People Power Party (PPP) candidate for the 2022 by-elections.

He has been accused of securing the party's nomination of former Rep. Kim Young-sun for the 2022 by-elections in return for receiving a free opinion poll from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the presidential election that year.

The special counsel team has raided the homes and offices of Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun and Lee Jun-seok, who respectively served as the head of the PPP's nomination committee and the party's leader at the time of the 2022 election.

Yoon, the PPP lawmaker, reportedly told investigators that he spoke with the former president about former Rep. Kim's nomination over the phone when he appeared for questioning on Sunday.

The former president has also been accused of violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly speaking a falsehood in a PPP presidential primary debate in 2021, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Yoon has been under detention since July 10, when a Seoul court issued a warrant for his arrest over his failed martial law bid.