President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared on the 15th for questioning by the special counsel on insurrection over the "foreign exchange allegations." Former President Yoon was said to have voluntarily complied with the summons after the special counsel moved to execute an arrest warrant that day. The questioning began at 10:14 a.m.
The special counsel on insurrection said in a media notice that day, "Around 10:14 a.m., with the arrival of an attorney, we began suspect questioning of the former president." Attorneys Kim Hong-il and Bae Bo-yoon are said to be participating as Yoon's defense counsel.
Earlier, Special Counsel Park Ji-young held an emergency media briefing that morning and said, "On Sept. 30, in connection with the foreign exchange allegations, the special counsel applied for an arrest warrant for the former president and it was issued on Oct. 1," adding, "We planned to execute the arrest warrant at 8 a.m. that day at the Seoul Detention Center, but when a correctional officer notified in advance around 7:30 a.m. of the fact of issuance and the plan to execute it, the former president expressed an intention to appear." Park added, "Accordingly, we did not execute the arrest warrant, and (the former president) has currently been brought out and is in the special counsel's waiting room for questioning."
Previously, in relation to the foreign exchange allegations, including the "dispatch of a Pyongyang drone," the special counsel notified the former president to appear twice on the 24th and 30th of last month, but it fell through when the former president did not comply.
In response, Yoon's legal team said in a media notice, "The former president has often told his attorneys that detention center staff faced significant hardship after the previous excessive execution of an arrest warrant by the Min special counsel (Kim Keon-hee special counsel)," adding, "It appears to be a decision to lessen the burden on detention center officials. In consideration of the circumstances that made it difficult for officials to execute it directly, he voluntarily complied."
Park also said that if the former president tries to leave in the middle of the questioning that day, the arrest warrant could be re-executed through a correctional officer. Park said, "He could refuse midway, or we could conduct questioning on two consecutive days; in such cases, we could consider re-executing the warrant to bring him in again." The execution deadline for the arrest warrant issued to the special counsel is until the 17th.
When reporters asked whether there is a set number of sessions planned for questioning the former president, Park said, "If today's questions are concluded, we are thinking that further questioning may not be necessary," adding, "The key is whether he can handle all the questions prepared by the special counsel today."
Meanwhile, the former president's representatives issued a separate statement saying, "Around 7:30 a.m. that day, a situation arose in which correctional officers attempted to execute the warrant in a surprise manner while the suspect (the former president) had not even washed up," adding, "To avoid burdening the correctional officers, the suspect appeared voluntarily, without even washing up, only grabbing clothes to put on."
They continued, "Regarding the special counsel's summons notice, the former president asked that the appearance schedule be coordinated with his attorney, but without any consultation process, they unilaterally applied for an arrest warrant," adding, "This squarely violates the basic principles of due process and is a clearly unjust measure sought for political purposes while ignoring procedural justice."