Yoon's legal representatives said that the president was "not feeling well" and had already expressed his position during his previous questioning session, which lasted nearly 11 hours at the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. But Yoon apparently remained silent during the questioning.
Yoon is currently being held at a remand prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
Yoon was arrested just a day ago in a large-scale operation involving over 500 CIO investigators and police officers. The operation, which began at 5:00 a.m., targeted his fortified official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Despite some resistance from Yoon's security officials and his diehard supporters, they were able to arrest him without major physical clashes.
That was the CIO's second attempt, following an initial attempt earlier this month involving approximately 150 investigators, which failed due to heavy resistance from more than 200 armed security officials who blocked their entry to the residence.
Yoon continues to object to an investigation by the CIO since a motion to impeach him was passed by the National Assembly on Dec. 14 last year. He has repeatedly argued that the CIO lacks jurisdiction over the charges of insurrection and abuse of power he faces, describing the investigation as "illegal and invalid."
With the CIO permitted to hold Yoon for up to 48 hours, investigators are now seeking a fresh warrant to detain him for a longer period. If issued, the warrant would allow them to detain Yoon for up to 20 days for further investigation. Such a warrant is typically granted when there is a risk of flight or evidence tampering.
Yoon's legal troubles stemmed from his late-night abrupt declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year. In a televised address, Yoon justified the decision as a response to "pro-North Korean forces and anti-government activities" which he claimed threatened South Korea's constitutional order.
Martial forces including military units from the Special Warfare Command were dispatched to major government buildings and other facilities including the National Assembly.
In response, the National Assembly convened an emergency session, with lawmakers voting to lift martial law. Despite the presence of martial forces attempting to breach the National Assembly's main hall, the lawmakers managed to end Yoon's short-lived martial law fiasco several hours later.
The declaration of martial law triggered widespread public outrage, with millions of protesters gathering in central Seoul including Yeouido near the National Assembly to demand Yoon's ouster. About two weeks later, the 300-seat National Assembly voted 204 to 85 to impeach Yoon, thereby suspending him from his official duties.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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