Yoon's Attorney: "Letter of Appointment Not Yet Submitted... Outpatient Treatment Needed Due to Risk of Blindness"
Special Prosecutor: "Health Condition Not Severe Enough to Prevent Investigation"... Considering Request for Arrest Warrant
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is heading to Seoul Detention Center after completing the second pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is under suspicion of involvement in candidate nomination requests and interference, has once again refused to comply with a summons from the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor's team (Special Prosecutor Min Jungki). With the special prosecutor's team having effectively issued a final warning, stating that they are considering requesting an arrest warrant, there is growing attention on how the team will respond.
Former President Yoon did not comply with the special prosecutor's team's demand to appear by 10 a.m. on the 30th, and for the second consecutive day, he failed to appear. Yoon's legal team claims that his health has deteriorated to the point where he has difficulty moving, his chronic diabetes has worsened, his liver enzyme levels have increased, and his longstanding eye disease has become so severe that his primary physician recently warned of a risk of blindness. Based on these circumstances, they argue that it is difficult for him to attend the summons.
Yoon's attorney, Yoo Jeonghwa, stated, "We have not yet submitted the letter of attorney appointment to the special prosecutor's team, but we are discussing it," and added, "I will be visiting him this afternoon, and it is true that his health is getting worse. Since there is a risk of blindness, he will likely need outpatient treatment, so we plan to submit a medical opinion to the detention center and make another request." However, the special prosecutor's team believes that Yoon's health is not so deteriorated as to justify his refusal to comply with the summons.
Yoon's continued refusal to appear despite being re-summoned indicates his intention not to cooperate with the special prosecutor's investigation, which is likely to prompt the team to consider whether to request an arrest warrant. The special prosecutor's team stated the previous day that if Yoon does not comply with the renewed summons, "we are considering compulsory measures such as requesting an arrest warrant."
The special prosecutor's team typically notifies suspects of a summons two to four times, and if they fail to comply, proceeds by requesting an arrest warrant. Therefore, they intend to apply the same standard process for summoning suspects in Yoon's case.
Former President Yoon is suspected of promising a nomination in exchange for opinion polling, in connection with political broker Myung Taegyun's alleged request for candidate nomination. There are also suspicions that, after receiving free opinion polling from Myung during the 2022 presidential election, Yoon was involved in ensuring that former lawmaker Kim Youngsun was nominated for the National Assembly by-election held in June of the same year.
The opinion polling in question was reportedly provided free of charge on 81 occasions. To determine whether Yoon influenced the party's candidate nominations during this process, the special prosecutor's team has been conducting successive investigations into Yoon Sanghyun, a member of the People Power Party, former lawmaker Kim, and Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform Party. It is reported that during the special prosecutor's investigation on the 27th, Yoon Sanghyun stated that he had spoken with Yoon and Kim regarding the nomination.
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