Special counsel attempts to bring in ex-President Yoon for questioning

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appears at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital city, July 9, to attend a hearing to review the legality of his detention over charges related to his failed attempt to impose martial law. Yonhap

A special counsel team investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid began a process to bring him in for questioning after he again refused to comply with a summons on Monday.

Yoon, who has been held at the Seoul Detention Center since his second arrest last Thursday, refused to appear at the special counsel's office for questioning at 2 p.m.

"We have sent an official request to the head of the Seoul Detention Center, asking them to bring Yoon Suk Yeol to the interrogation room at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office by 3:30 p.m. today," assistant special counsel Park Ji-young said during a press briefing.

Park stressed that Yoon, currently under detention, has no right to refuse to appear for questioning, though he has the right to stay silent.

Yoon's legal team earlier said Yoon will not appear for questioning, citing a previously submitted statement of absence and saying "there has been no change" in circumstances.

Yoon was initially summoned for questioning scheduled for Friday afternoon but did not appear after submitting a written reason for absence to special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, citing health problems.

The special counsel team, however, confirmed through officials at the correctional facility that Yoon has no health issue serious enough to prevent him from attending the questioning.

Yoon was taken into custody early Thursday after a court issued a warrant to arrest him over five key charges, including his alleged violation of the rights of Cabinet members by calling only a select few to a meeting held shortly before he declared martial law on Dec. 3.

Cho's team also accused the former president of creating a false martial law declaration document after Dec. 3 to add legitimacy to his actions, and having it signed by then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun before discarding it.

In addition, Yoon is accused of instructing the presidential spokesperson for foreign press to distribute false statements after the martial law attempt, ordering the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to block his detention by investigators in early January and ordering the PSS to delete call records from secure phones used by three military commanders.

This is the second time Yoon has been arrested.

The first time was in January when he was still in office, but a court later accepted his request to cancel his arrest, granting his release in March.