"Defense Team Circumstances" Cited in Statement of Nonattendance
Second Absence Following Last Month's No-Show
Arrest Warrant Request Under Consideration
Former President Yoon Sukyeol ultimately did not comply with the request by the special prosecutor’s team, led by Lee Myunghyun and investigating the death in the Marine Corps, to appear for questioning on the 8th. This marks his second absence, following a previous nonappearance on the 23rd of last month.
Yoon’s legal team announced to the media about ten minutes before the scheduled appearance time (10:00 a.m.) that they had submitted a statement of nonattendance. The statement reportedly explained that the defense team’s circumstances made it difficult for Yoon to attend the questioning.
Former President Yoon Sukyeol is attending the trial on charges of obstruction of official duties held on the 26th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. It has been reported that the special prosecutor’s team is considering requesting an arrest warrant for former President Yoon, who has failed to appear twice.
Former President Yoon, who faces charges of abuse of power and aiding a suspect’s escape, is regarded as the central figure in the alleged external pressure on the investigation into the death of Corporal Chae, which is the second key case under the special prosecutor’s mandate. He is both the person at the origin of the so-called “VIP outrage” and is suspected of having exerted improper influence on the presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense to exclude former Marine Division 1 Commander Lim Sungkeun from the list of suspects.
Through their investigation of those involved in the case, the special prosecutor’s team confirmed that former President Yoon became extremely angry when he received the initial investigation report on Corporal Chae’s case during a presidential office senior secretaries’ meeting on July 31, 2023, and that he also rebuked former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop during a phone call. Accordingly, the team planned to summon Yoon on this day to question him about the reasons for his outrage and whether he had instructed that former Division Commander Lim be excluded from the list of suspects.
Additionally, former President Yoon is suspected of having helped former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop, a key suspect in the alleged external pressure on the investigation and who had been banned from leaving the country by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, to escape by appointing him as ambassador to Australia.
Given the large volume of matters to investigate, the special prosecutor’s team maintains that multiple rounds of questioning of former President Yoon are necessary.
Meanwhile, in connection with the suspicions surrounding Lee Jongseop’s appointment as ambassador to Australia and his escape, the special prosecutor’s team is questioning former National Security Office Chief Jang Hojin as a suspect on this day. This is the second time Jang has been questioned.
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