Former President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) leaves the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on July 9, 2025, after attending a hearing on his potential arrest over his failed attempt to impose martial law in December. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 31 (Korea Bizwire) — A special counsel team said Thursday it will execute a detention warrant for jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol this week to forcibly bring him in for questioning.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team said it plans to send an assistant special counsel, a prosecutor and an investigator to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, at 9 a.m. Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court issued a detention warrant for Yoon after the former president, who is under arrest over his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, defied two summonses to appear for questioning this week.
Min’s team is investigating allegations that Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, meddled in nominating candidates for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through a self-proclaimed power broker, Myung Tae-kyun.
Yoon’s lawyers have said the former president is unable to comply with the summonses because of his deteriorating health.
Following the news of the plan to detain Yoon, his lawyers said they delivered his medical records, and a doctor’s note and diagnosis to the detention center the same day.
In a statement to the press, the lawyers said the former president underwent a medical examination at the detention center but it was limited, and that he is scheduled to receive an eye procedure next month due to the growing risk he may go blind.
This is the second time a detention warrant has been issued for Yoon.
In January, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials detained Yoon at the official presidential residence under a court-issued warrant and took him to the same detention center where he was held until his surprise release in March.
At the time he was arrested on charges of leading an insurrection through his martial law attempt.
Even if Yoon is forcibly brought to the interrogation room, there is skepticism he will comply with the questioning.
He and his wife are suspected of receiving free opinion polls from Myung ahead of the 2022 presidential election in exchange for securing the nomination of former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election later that year.
Min’s team is also looking into whether Yoon violated the election law by making false statements about his wife’s suspected involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme during the presidential primaries in 2021.
The team has been tasked with investigating 19 criminal allegations against the former first lady.
(Yonhap)
