The court set the pretrial witness examination date requested by the insurrection special counsel for former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon for the 23rd.
According to the legal community and others, Judge Jeon Eun-jin of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 31 Single-Judge Panel set the pretrial witness examination for the former leader for 2 p.m. on the 23rd and sent a subpoena.
A pretrial witness examination is a system that allows a prosecutor to summon a reference person to the court for questioning when the person does not comply with an investigative agency's request for an interview. Testimony given during the witness examination has the same effect as the trial record.
Article 221-2 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that "if a person who is clearly recognized as knowing facts indispensable to a criminal investigation refuses to appear or testify, the prosecutor may request the judge to examine the person as a witness once before the first trial date." If the court grants the request and the person still refuses to appear, compulsory apprehension is also possible.
The special counsel is investigating allegations that during the lifting of the Dec. 3 emergency martial law, then floor leader Chu Kyung-ho and other People Power Party leaders interfered with lawmakers' attendance for a National Assembly vote. The special counsel suspects that the People Power Party's general meeting location changed multiple times to obstruct the National Assembly's vote.
Meanwhile, on the 10th, when the special counsel requested the witness examination, the former leader wrote on his social media (SNS), "As party leader during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law, I took the lead ahead of anyone else, together with several lawmakers, constituency party heads, and party officials, in blocking the unlawful martial law. I have already disclosed all the detailed circumstances through the book published in February, media interviews, and more," adding, "I have nothing further to say beyond that."