bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol answered a summons on Saturday by a special prosecutor under the threat of another arrest as an investigation intensified over the ousted leader’s failed bid to impose martial law in December.
Yoon, through his lawyers, has protested Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s demands to appear for questioning under media attention as a violation of his rights and a tactic to publicly humiliate him.
His lawyers said in a statement that Yoon would respond to the investigation on Saturday and tell the truth. They described the investigation as “politically motivated” and “full of falsehood and distortion”.
Yoon did not answer questions from reporters as he entered the special prosecutor’s office.


The martial law attempt in December shocked a country that had prided itself on becoming a thriving democracy, having overcome military dictatorship in the 1980s.
Yoon was removed in April by the Constitutional Court that upheld his impeachment by parliament.
Cho sought a warrant to arrest Yoon for refusing to answer repeated summonses earlier, but it was rejected by a court this week on the grounds that the former president had since expressed a willingness to cooperate.
Appointed in early June, Cho has launched a team of more than 200 prosecutors and investigators to take over ongoing investigations of Yoon, a former top prosecutor who was elected president in 2022.
Yoon is already on trial for leading the December 3 martial law declaration.
He had been arrested in January after resisting authorities armed with a court warrant trying to take him into custody, but was released after 52 days on legal technicalities.
In addition to his insurrection charges, Yoon is accused of ordering his presidential security officers to block his arrest in January and directing them to delete classified data linked to the martial law declaration.
Additional reporting by Yonhap


Japan’s Takaichi steps back from Liancourt Rocks pledge in sign of softer line on South Korea

South Korea’s Yoon awaits verdict as insurrection rulings mount: ‘the game is over’

Canada launches huge defence plan to curb reliance on Trump’s US

India AI summit aims to shift focus from model races to scaled reality

South Korea

South Korea’s ex-president Yoon answers summons after being threatened with arrest

Former president Yoon Suk-yeol arrives for questioning at the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul on Saturday. Photo: EPA

South Korea’s first lady problem: plagiarism, privilege and Kim Keon-hee

Kim Keon-hee and her husband, former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, wait to cast their ballots in South Korea’s presidential election earlier this month. Photo: Yonhap/dpa

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are facing multiple investigations over alleged offences ranging from stock manipulation to political interference. Photo: AFP

Former first lady Kim Keon-hee seen in a screengrab from a Voice of Seoul video, reportedly filmed in August 2021. Photo: YouTube/VoiceOfSeoul

Former residence of South Korea’s Yoon under lawmakers’ scrutiny over ‘pet pool’

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are believed to have used a shallow pool at their former residence in Seoul for their pets. Photo: AFP

Protesters rallying against then-South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul last December following his failed martial law attempt. Photo: AP

South Korea’s probes of Yoon and wife: search for truth or ‘political revenge’?

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, at a polling station in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Supporters hand flowers to President Lee Jae-myung as he departs for the National Assembly to attend his inauguration ceremony on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

South Korean soldiers check a balloon carrying garbage, presumably sent by North Korea, in Seoul on June 25 last year. Photo: South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff/ EPA-EFE

Protesters carry an effigy of former president Yoon Suk-yeol last December. Photo: AP

Yoon on trial: what’s at stake in largest special investigation in South Korean history?

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeol (left) and his wife Kim Keon-Hee celebrating National Liberation Day on August 15, last year.  Photo: EPA-EFE

Police officers on standby as the prosecution raided the residence of former president Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on April 30. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

South Korea investigators seek new warrant to arrest ex-president Yoon

South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol was formally stripped of office in April, after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule. Photo: via Reuters

South Korea’s ex-president Yoon answers summons after being threatened with arrest

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yoon Suk-yeol is being investigated for his failed martial law bid in December

Yoon Suk-yeol is being investigated for his failed martial law bid in December