Yoon requests change in special counsel questioning schedule set for Monday
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
Lawyers representing former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday requested a schedule change for his next summons by the special counsel team, which has been investigating insurrection charges tied to his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.
The special counsel had notified Yoon to appear for a second round of questioning on Monday, just a day after a marathon session held over the weekend.
"It is an extremely tight schedule that does not take into account the suspect's health and his right to prepare for ongoing trials," Yoon's legal team said in a statement. "We submitted a written request to the special counsel this afternoon, seeking to reschedule the appearance."
After a 15-hour session, Yoon left the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul early Sunday, following questioning over allegations that he ordered the Presidential Security Service to block his arrest when investigators attempted to execute a warrant in January.
The special counsel team has notified Yoon to appear for questioning again on Monday. It plans to summon him for questioning indefinitely until it wraps up the investigation.
Special prosecutors questioned Yoon for about five hours during the marathon session, which was partially suspended due to objections from Yoon's lawyers over the presence of a police investigator whom they claimed was unfit to question the former president.
Yoon was questioned about a Cabinet meeting that took place just before his martial law declaration, his alleged attempt to obstruct the National Assembly from passing a resolution to lift martial law, and treason charges.
Yoon's lawyers told reporters after the session that the former president responded to the questions to the best of his knowledge.
The special counsel team plans to resume questioning Yoon at 9 a.m. Monday over allegations he ordered officials to delete records of secure phones used by those allegedly involved in martial law operations.
Song Jin-ho, center, a lawyer for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaks to reporters after Yoon underwent questioning by a special counsel team at the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
Yoon's legal team said it would hold talks with the special counsel over scheduling the next session.
"(He) will obviously respond to a summons that follows due process," Song Jin-ho, one of Yoon's lawyers, told reporters.
The questioning took place two weeks after the special counsel probe was launched and 85 days after he was removed from office.
It marked the ousted president's first appearance before an investigative body in about five months, following his arrest and questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in January.
The CIO attempted to detain him in early January but failed due to a prolonged standoff with presidential security personnel. He ended up being detained on Jan. 15, making him the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
Yoon did not respond to reporters' questions when entering or leaving the building.