Former President Yoon Suk-yeol will appear before the Kim Keon-hee special counsel at 10 a.m. on the 20th to be questioned as a suspect. The special counsel announced on the 15th that Yoon's questioning had been rescheduled from the 17th to the 20th.
The special counsel said the defense requested a change of date due to preparation for pleadings and court schedules, and it accepted the request. Since formally launching the investigation on July 2, this is the first in-person questioning of the former president. With the investigation period nearing its end, the special counsel is said to be considering wrapping up the interrogation on the same day.
The former president has been identified as a co-offender in violating the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that first lady Kim Keon-hee received polling results worth 270 million won from Myung Tae-kyun. He has also been mentioned as a co-offender in bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes over suspicions that he received a painting by artist Lee Ufan worth 140 million won from former Director General Prosecutor Kim Sang-min. He is also under investigation for violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly announcing false information related to Kim at a public debate in late 2021 during the presidential campaign.
The special counsel is also looking into whether the former president was involved as Kim received personnel and business favors along with expensive gifts from Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-gwan, former National Education Commission Chair Lee Bae-yong, and others. The special counsel said it had repeatedly summoned the former president, who did not comply, and that although it obtained an arrest warrant and attempted forced attendance, the questioning did not take place.
The special counsel also said it will summon Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok as a suspect at 10 a.m. on the 21st. Lee did not comply with an earlier summons but is said to have recently coordinated the schedule for questioning.
The special counsel plans to verify the facts related to alleged interference by the former president in nominations during the June 1, 2022 local elections and National Assembly by-elections. Lee, who was then head of the People Power Party, has claimed there is a call recording suggesting nomination interference, and he is also a reported party in a complaint related to the interference allegations.
The special counsel also said it refiled a request for an arrest warrant on the 12th for Chairman Yang Nam-hee, identified as a participant in manipulating the stock price of Well Biotec, on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and occupational embezzlement. A pretrial detention hearing will be held at 10:10 a.m. on the 18th at the Seoul Central District Court.
Yang previously faced an arrest warrant request on the 13th of last month on the same charges, but the court rejected it, saying the evidence did not sufficiently support the need for detention regarding involvement in key charges and allocation of gains. The special counsel said it refiled the warrant after supplementary investigation.
Yang is suspected of manipulating the stock price in May 2023 by deceiving investors into believing Well Biotec would participate in Ukraine's reconstruction projects. The indictment of former Well Biotec CEO Koo Se-hyun, who was previously detained and charged, is said to state that five people, including former CEO Koo, Chairman Yang, and former Vice Chairman Lee Ki-hoon, conspired to rig the stock price and obtained unjust gains totaling 30.21111 billion won.