South Korea’s detained President Yoon Suk Yeol does not plan to attend a second round of questioning on Thursday, his lawyer said, intensifying resistance to a criminal investigation into whether he attempted insurrection through his martial law proposal.
Yoon, the first sitting president in South Korea to be arrested, was taken to the Seoul Detention Centre on Wednesday evening after refusing to cooperate with authorities. He reportedly spent the night in a solitary cell. Investigators have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must either release him or seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days.
The president’s refusal to engage with investigators coincides with the Constitutional Court’s second hearing in his impeachment trial, which will decide whether he is permanently removed from office or reinstated.
The country is facing its worst political turmoil in decades, triggered by Yoon’s brief attempt to enforce martial law on Dec. 3, which parliament swiftly rejected. His arrest on Wednesday followed a weeks-long standoff, ending when police stormed his fortified villa in Seoul before dawn, to the dismay of his supporters gathered there.
Yoon claimed he surrendered to avoid “unsavoury bloodshed” but continues to denounce the investigation as illegal and the arrest warrant as invalid. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) prepared a 200-page questionnaire, but Yoon has so far refused to respond or engage during questioning. The next round of questioning is scheduled for 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) on Thursday.
However, Yoon Kab-keun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, informed reporters via text message that the president would not attend, citing his health and calling further questioning unnecessary. Yonhap News also reported the lawyer saying the questioning had no value, though no further details were provided.
A CIO official noted that it may be possible to forcibly summon Yoon for questioning but said they would review legal protocols before proceeding. Meanwhile, a small group of Yoon’s supporters protested outside the CIO office, calling the arrest illegitimate.
Yoon’s legal team has consistently challenged the validity of the arrest warrant, arguing it was issued by a court without jurisdiction and that the investigation team lacked a legal mandate. They have also sought a court review to challenge the arrest’s legality. The team denies allegations of insurrection, which carries a potential life sentence or even the death penalty in South Korea.
The CIO confirmed that Yoon’s 48-hour detention period has been temporarily paused pending the court’s review.
The political crisis stems from parliament’s impeachment of Yoon on Dec. 14 over his martial law attempt, with the Constitutional Court now deliberating whether to uphold the decision. Public opinion polls suggest a majority of South Koreans support impeachment, but the efforts to arrest Yoon have strengthened his base of hardcore supporters.
The turmoil has shaken Asia’s fourth-largest economy, with ripple effects on financial markets. On Thursday, South Korea’s central bank unexpectedly held its policy interest rate steady, balancing the impact of last year’s consecutive rate cuts while trying to stabilize the won, which recently hit a 15-year low against the U.S. dollar. Analysts had widely anticipated a rate cut, according to a Reuters poll.
