'Refusal Again and Again'... Suspect Yoon Seok-yeol's 'Investigation Agency Shopping' Becoming a Reality?

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of being the ‘ringleader of the insurrection’ in the 12·3 emergency martial law incident, is refusing to comply with summonses from investigative agencies, contrary to his earlier declaration that he would "not avoid legal issues." Instead, he has indicated his intention to personally conduct a ‘self-defense’ in the impeachment trial to be held at the Constitutional Court. Critics argue that he is cleverly trying to evade the investigation by exploiting the confusion among investigative agencies over jurisdiction regarding the ‘treason’ investigation.

President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law (Special Investigation Headquarters), the police, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), and the joint investigation body formed with the Ministry of National Defense (Joint Investigation Headquarters) have all rushed to summon President Yoon for direct investigation, but he has refused to cooperate by rejecting receipt of summonses and using various other methods. The prosecution has issued a second summons, ordering him to appear by 10 a.m. on the 21st. The Joint Investigation Headquarters is also expected to summon him again. The police attempted to conduct a search and seizure at the Presidential Security Service the day before to secure the so-called ‘burner phone’ reportedly used by President Yoon at the time of the emergency martial law declaration, but the attempt failed as they were unable to gain entry.

The lack of coordination among the prosecution, police, and CIO over jurisdiction for the ‘treason’ investigation has also provided an excuse. Seok Dong-hyun, a former chief prosecutor involved in President Yoon’s legal defense team, told reporters the day before that it is not lawful for multiple investigative agencies to conduct investigations simultaneously, adding, "I believe even the courts will be confused."

Ultimately, unless the investigative agencies forcibly detain President Yoon, it is highly likely that he will be able to ‘shop’ for the investigative agency he prefers and undergo questioning accordingly. The legal community views it as highly probable that President Yoon will choose to be investigated by the prosecution, which is considered his ‘home turf.’

President Yoon’s side has stated that they will actively participate in the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial proceedings. They appear to be hopeful that if even one of the six Constitutional Court justices opposes the impeachment, it could be dismissed. The presiding justice for the impeachment trial is Jeong Hyung-sik, a conservative judge personally appointed by President Yoon. Recently, lawyer Seok posted on his Facebook under the title ‘We Can Win at the Impeachment Court,’ arguing that "this impeachment trial is starting with a serious procedural flaw, pushed forward without any factual evidence from a judicial perspective."