South Korea: Ex-Prez Yoon defies further questioning by special counsel (Ld)

Seoul, June 28 (IANS) Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared for questioning on Saturday over insurrection charges tied to his December 3 martial law declaration, but refused to undergo further questioning, claiming the illegality of a police member of the special counsel team leading the questioning process.

Yoon's legal team argued that the police investigator in question was among the officials subject to legal complaints in connection with Yoon's "unlawful" arrest in the past, claiming he was unfit to question the former president.

Shortly after Yoon arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul at 9:56 a.m., the special counsel team began questioning Yoon on allegations that he ordered the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to physically block his arrest when the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) attempted to execute a warrant in January.

However, the team said Yoon refused to sit down for the afternoon session, taking issue with the fact that the questioning was led by a police official, who had handled the insurrection probe prior to the launch of the special counsel investigation, instead of a prosecutor.

"The officer in charge has overseen this investigation from the beginning and knows the details better than anyone else," the special counsel team said, stressing it was necessary for investigative consistency.

The special counsel initially planned to wrap up the questioning on charges of obstruction of arrest in the afternoon and move on to investigate him about a Cabinet meeting he convened in the hours leading up to the short-lived martial law imposition.

The probe could face further delays, or even suspension, if Yoon's legal team continues to object to police participation.

The questioning comes two weeks after the special counsel probe was launched and just 85 days after his impeachment.

This marks the ousted president's first appearance before an investigative body in about five months, following his arrest and questioning by the CIO in January.

In addition to his insurrection charges in connection with the failed martial law bid, Yoon is accused of ordering the PSS to physically block his arrest when the CIO attempted to execute a warrant in January, and directing the PSS to delete records from secure phones used by military commanders shortly after his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Following the martial law bid, Yoon was summoned by the CIO for questioning three times in December but refused to comply.

The CIO attempted to detain him in early January but failed due to a prolonged standoff with presidential security personnel. He ended up being detained on January 15 at the presidential residence in central Seoul, making him the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, reported Yonhap news agency.

Yoon's lawyer argued that Yoon defied the summonses because the detention warrant filed by the CIO failed to meet legal grounds.

Shortly after his arrival, Yoon's legal team issued a statement strongly condemning the special counsel team, accusing it of staging a "political show" pertaining to the summoning of the former president.

"(The special counsel team) must not unilaterally notify the suspect or publicly expose the suspect's appearance in a way that infringes on their rights," it said.

It marked the first time Yoon was questioned inside the prosecutors' office where he once served as a prosecutor and where he himself led a special counsel team investigating former President Park Geun-hye's influence-peddling scandal.

--IANS

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