SEOUL: South Korea's impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol failed to appear before the country's corruption watchdog on Wednesday, he said, after he was summoned for questioning over his attempt to implement martial law.
Yoon was stripped of his duties by parliament over the weekend following his brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in decades.
Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) had summoned him to their facility in suburban Seoul at 10:00 a.m. (01:00 GMT) for questioning on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.
“President Yoon did not appear for his summons today,” a CIO official said. AFP.
Yoon's legal team said Tuesday that he did not commit insurrection and vowed to fight the charge in court, according to Yonhap news agency.
“Although we do not consider the charges of insurrection to be legally valid, we will comply with the investigation,” said Seok Dong-hyeon of Yoon's team.
The CIO said this week that a subpoena was sent to Yoon but was returned “undelivered” after an unidentified person in the presidential office refused to accept it.
Yoon's absence on Wednesday “will be considered a failure to comply with the first summons,” according to a statement from the CIO.
Investigators said they were considering sending a second subpoena, but CIO chief Oh Dong-woon told parliament on Tuesday they were also “reviewing” whether to issue an arrest warrant.
Yoon is being investigated by South Korean prosecutors, as well as a joint team of police, defense ministry and anti-corruption investigators.
The Presidential Security Services blocked “the joint investigation team's attempt to attack a computer server” in the presidential compound, Yonhap news agency he said Wednesday.
Yoon and some members of his inner circle face a possible life sentence, or even the death penalty, if convicted. He remains banned from traveling abroad.
South Korea's Constitutional Court, which began proceedings against Yoon on Monday, is separately deliberating whether to uphold his impeachment.
On Wednesday, the court ordered Yoon to produce the martial law decree he issued two weeks ago, as well as minutes of cabinet meetings held directly before and after the announcement.
Judges have about six months to decide Yoon's case and a preliminary hearing has been set for December 27, although Yoon is not required to attend.
