The first questioning by the Min Joong-ki special counsel team (the Kim Keon-hee special counsel) of former President Yoon Suk-yeol ended after eight and a half hours.
According to legal sources on the 20th, the Min Joong-ki special counsel team questioned the former president at its Gwanghwamun office in Seoul starting around 10 a.m. that day. The former president left Seoul Detention Center at 9:30 a.m. in a Justice Ministry transport vehicle, arrived at the special counsel's office, was questioned, reviewed the transcript, and left around 6:30 p.m.
The special counsel team was said to have prepared a questionnaire of about 160 pages to review the overall allegations related to the former president and his wife.
The team asked about allegations that the former president colluded with Kim Keon-hee to receive for free a public opinion poll worth 270 million won from businessman Myung Tae-gyun in 2022; to receive a Lee Ufan Gallery painting worth 140 million won from former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min in return for a nomination solicitation; and to receive, along with personnel solicitation, jewelry worth tens of millions of won from Seohee Construction Co. Chairman Lee Bong-gwan, former National Education Commission Chair Lee Bae-yong, and robot-dog entrepreneur Seo Sung-bin.
The team also investigated the allegation of announcing false information over remarks made during a 2021 public debate when Yoon was the People Power Party presidential candidate, regarding allegations about Kim's involvement in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation and Kim's falsified career history, which were said to be contrary to the facts.
The former president was said to have denied most of the allegations throughout the questioning. An attorney for the former president said, "Defense rights were actively exercised without refusing to testify, and the overall questioning proceeded smoothly." Attorneys Yoo Jeong-hwa, Chae Myeong-seong, and Bae Bo-yoon were present for the questioning.
With the special counsel team's investigation deadline set for the 28th, leaving only about a week, an additional summons appears unlikely.