Arrested former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear for questioning by a special counsel team Tuesday. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Arrested former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear for questioning by a special counsel team Tuesday over an investigation into various allegations surrounding his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Yoon, who is currently in custody at Seoul Detention Center, south of Seoul, did not show up at special counsel Min Joong-ki’s office for his scheduled appearance over allegations of him and his wife meddling in election nominations.
The special counsel’s team warned it could consider filing for a detention warrant if Yoon refuses to appear for questioning again.
“We’ve summoned Yoon for appearing for questioning at 10 a.m. Wednesday through the head of the detention center,” assistant special counsel Moon Hong-ju said in a briefing, noting that Yoon did not offer any explanation about his non-appearance.
Yoon’s side told reporters that the former president’s health condition has deteriorated, making it difficult for him to appear. Yoon has refused questioning by another special counsel team investigating his martial law decree, citing health reasons.
If Yoon appears for questioning, Min’s team is expected to question him about allegations of interfering in the nomination of a People Power Party (PPP) candidate for the 2022 by-elections.
He has been accused of securing the party’s nomination of former Rep. Kim Young-sun for the 2022 by-elections in return for receiving a free opinion poll from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the presidential election that year.
The special counsel team has raided the homes and offices of Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun and Lee Jun-seok, who respectively served as the head of the PPP’s nomination committee and the party’s leader at the time of the 2022 election.
Yoon, the PPP lawmaker, reportedly told investigators that he spoke with the former president about former Rep. Kim’s nomination over the phone when he appeared for questioning on Sunday.
The former president has also been accused of violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly speaking a falsehood in a PPP presidential primary debate in 2021.
Yoon has been under detention since July 10 when a Seoul court issued a warrant for his arrest over his failed martial law bid.
(Yonhap)
