Sweeping special probes on Yoon to begin soon: What's at stake?

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee leave a polling station in Seocho District, southern Seoul, June 3, after casting their ballots in the presidential election. Joint Press Corps

Legal troubles for disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee are expected to intensify as sweeping special counsel investigations targeting the couple are set to begin in the coming weeks.

Already under investigation by prosecutors and police on multiple charges, the pair now faces what is expected to become the largest special counsel probe in Korea’s constitutional history.

More than 500 investigators and officials will be mobilized for probes into three major scandals that dogged Yoon throughout his presidency.

Cho Eun-suk, former acting chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, has been appointed to lead the investigation into Yoon’s martial law declaration last December that ultimately led to his impeachment in April. The probe will focus on potential charges of insurrection and abuse of military authority.

"I will carry out my duties as special counsel with great care, guided solely by the logic of the investigation,” Cho said Friday, hours after President Lee Jae-myung formally appointed him.

Cho’s team will be the largest of the three, comprising 267 personnel, including 60 prosecutors, 100 special investigators and 100 government officials.

Later that day, Cho met with Park Se-hyun, chief prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, who has been leading the ongoing investigation into Yoon’s martial law declaration. The two reportedly discussed coordination between their offices.

Min Joong-ki, a former chief judge at the Seoul Central District Court, was appointed to lead the special investigation into the former first lady over allegations including stock manipulation and bribery.

Both Cho and Min were nominated by the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), now the ruling party after Lee's victory in the June 3 presidential election.

Kim, whose time as first lady was marred by a series of scandals— a major factor behind her husband’s dismal approval ratings — is under scrutiny for allegedly accepting luxury gifts from a pastor and a shaman, manipulating stock prices and attempting to influence local elections through her ties to self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun.

This combined photo shows independent prosecutors who will lead special probes into allegations surrounding former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee. From left are Cho Eun-suk, former acting chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, Min Joong-ki, former chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, and Lee Myeong-hyeon, former senior official at the defense ministry's prosecutors' office. Yonhap

Lee Myeong-hyeon, a former senior prosecutor at the Ministry of National Defense, will lead the third special counsel investigation, looking into the 2023 death of a Marine identified by the surname Chae, who drowned during a civilian rescue mission amid monsoon flooding.

The incident sparked public outrage over allegations of political interference in the military's internal investigation, with critics accusing Yoon of attempting to cover it up.

The appointment of the three independent prosecutors followed the National Assembly's passage of special counsel bills on June 5, and Lee’s formal approval of the bills on Tuesday.

Each special counsel team has been granted a 20-day preparation period to finalize personnel and logistics before launching full-scale investigations.

The move comes less than two weeks after Lee took office.

During Yoon’s presidency, similar special counsel bills were proposed multiple times by the then-opposition DPK, but were all vetoed by Yoon.

The scale of the upcoming special counsel investigations surpasses that of the 2016 special probe into then-President Park Geun-hye, which involved about 120 investigators. That investigation exposed a major corruption and influence-peddling scandal that ultimately led to Park’s impeachment and imprisonment.

A supporter of former President Yoon Suk Yeol waves Korean and American national flags near Yoon's private residence in Seocho District, southern Seoul, May 14. Yonhap

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting over whether the former president and first lady could face detention even before the special counsel investigations formally begin, as both have refused to cooperate with ongoing criminal probes.

Yoon is under police investigation for allegedly obstructing official duties by ordering his security team to block investigators from entering his residence in January. At the time, investigators were attempting to take him into custody following his repeated refusal to comply with police questioning related to his martial law declaration.

On Thursday, police issued a third summons, requesting Yoon appear for questioning by June 19 after he ignored two earlier requests. Authorities typically seek a detention warrant after an individual fails to comply with three summonses.

Kim is also under investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office over alleged election-related misconduct tied to political broker Myung. Prosecutors have summoned her for questioning, but she has so far refused to appear.