Pressure Mounts as Summons Date Made Public, Indicating 'No Room for Negotiation'
Yoon's Side Criticizes Media Announcement of Summons as 'Petty'... Vows to Comply Confidently
Further Disputes Expected Over Additional Charges at the Appearance
Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok, who is investigating the rebellion and treason cases related to the 12·3 Martial Law, requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Sukyeol, but the court dismissed the request on the 25th. The special prosecutor immediately notified the former president to appear for questioning and stated that if he fails to comply, the arrest warrant will be re-requested. Former President Yoon's side responded by saying, "We will appear with confidence."
The special prosecutor for the rebellion case announced to the media on this day, "The court dismissed the arrest warrant requested yesterday for former President Yoon on the grounds that the suspect has stated he will comply with the special prosecutor's summons if requested."
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is attending the 8th trial session for charges of leading a rebellion and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency Joint Photo Team
The court accepted the argument from former President Yoon's side that, although the special prosecutor had the intention to comply if the summons was made through proper procedures after the case was transferred from the police, the sudden request for an arrest warrant without any prior summons was unlawful.
Accordingly, the special prosecutor requested that former President Yoon and his legal counsel appear as a suspect at the special prosecutor's office in the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at 9 a.m. on the 28th.
The special prosecutor stated that if former President Yoon fails to comply with the summons, they will consider requesting an arrest warrant again. In response to a question about whether the arrest warrant will be requested only after three summons requests from the special prosecutor, an official said, "That is not the case," and clarified, "We have requested his appearance, and if he does not comply, we will review whether to request the warrant again."
Some observers believe that the special prosecutor publicly announcing the date and time for Yoon's appearance immediately after the warrant was dismissed was intended to emphasize that there is no room for negotiation over the date and time of the summons with the suspect. Additionally, since Yoon did not respond to three previous police summonses and considering the continuity of the investigation after the case was transferred to the special prosecutor, it is expected that the special prosecutor will not repeatedly request his appearance as is customary.
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is entering the court on the morning of the 16th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu to attend the 7th trial session for charges of leading a rebellion and abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of rights. Photo by Joint Press Corps
However, former President Yoon's side also stated that they will comply with this summons. Yoon's legal team released a statement shortly after the media reported the summons, expressing "deep concern that the excessive request for an arrest warrant and procedural violations may be an unjust attempt to disgrace and tarnish a former president," but added, "Nevertheless, former President Yoon will confidently comply with the special prosecutor's summons scheduled for this Saturday."
The statement continued, "If an excessive and sudden arrest warrant request is dismissed, it is standard procedure in even ordinary cases to coordinate with the legal counsel and notify the possible appearance date. However, announcing the dismissal of the arrest warrant and specifying the summons date to the media is unbecoming of the special prosecutor and is a very petty act."
The special prosecutor for the rebellion case had applied for an arrest warrant at the Seoul Central District Court the previous day, citing clear intent from Yoon to not comply with the special prosecutor's summons after he had already failed to respond to three summonses from the police special investigation unit, including charges of obstructing special official duties.
Former President Yoon is also accused of instructing the Presidential Security Service to block his arrest during the attempted execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in January. He is further accused of instructing the deletion of information related to secure phones involving former Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jonggeun and former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jinwoo from the Security Service on December 7 last year, after the declaration of martial law.
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