South Korea’s president flouts summons amid martial-law probe – media
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to comply on Sunday with a summons from prosecutors, according to news agency Yonhap. They reportedly plan to issue another order on Monday, amid an ongoing investigation into his brief imposition of martial law.
The summons was issued on Wednesday. Yoon was summoned to appear for questioning at 10 am local time on Sunday but did not attend.
Yoon and senior military officials are facing potential charges of treason, insurrection, abuse of authority, and obstructing people from exercising their rights.
He was impeached on Saturday, meaning he is automatically suspended from office. The South Korean Constitutional Court now has 180 days to uphold or overturn the decision. During this period, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will act as the country’s interim president.
The political crisis in South Korea erupted on December 3 when Yoon delivered a surprise televised address, declaring emergency martial law on the grounds that the opposition – which he accused of being sympathetic towards North Korea – had allegedly been preparing a “rebellion.”
Within hours, 190 lawmakers, who managed to access the National Assembly despite military cordons, voted unanimously to lift the decree. In addition, thousands of people took to the streets to condemn the president’s actions.
Less than six hours after decreeing martial law, the head of state announced that he had decided to retract his decision.
During his address on Thursday, Yoon, who faces an investigation over possible insurrection, defended his move, calling the declaration of martial law a “highly calibrated political judgment.” It was aimed to “protect the nation” from the opposition’s attempts to block the work of the government, he said.
