Special counsel to pursue legal action after Yoon declines part of questioning

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Special counsel to pursue legal action after Yoon declines part of questioning

Published: 28 Jun. 2025, 15:55 Updated: 29 Jun. 2025, 14:18

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho District on June 28, 2025, for questioning. [YONHAP]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to return for afternoon questioning on Saturday, according to the special counsel team investigating an alleged insurrection case, prompting the team to consider legal action.

Yoon has remained in the waiting room and has not entered the designated interrogation room since the afternoon session was scheduled to resume, according to Park Ji-young, deputy special counsel.

“Former President Yoon is currently staying in the waiting room and not entering the investigation room,” Park said. “This amounts to a refusal to appear.”

Yoon had completed his morning questioning, which ran from 10:14 a.m. to 12:44 p.m. The investigation was set to resume at 1:30 p.m., but Yoon’s legal team demanded that the lead investigator be replaced, effectively halting the session.

Park criticized the action for disrupting the investigation with false claims, denying the accusation that Police Superintendent Park Chang-hwan — whom Yoon’s team referred to as the official responsible for his “illegal arrest”— was involved in the questioning.

“Interfering in the investigation with false information is akin to crossing a line,” Park said. “It is not true that Superintendent Park is questioning a victim.”

Park added that the special counsel views the defense’s actions as deliberate obstruction and will launch a separate investigation into the matter with the possibility of enacting measures under the Criminal Procedure Act.

Yoon’s legal team accused the investigation of being improper, following the morning session.

“The assailant is questioning the victim,” the statement read, referring to Superintendent Park. “Is this how a special counsel investigation is conducted — by having a police officer who was reported for illegal conduct under the guise of official duty question former President Yoon?”

Update, Dec. 31: Lede, headline updated to include the latest development.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG HYE JEONG [[email protected]]