Pres. Yoon in legal standoff

President Yoon Suk Yeol is not cooperating with the investigation or even the impeachment trial process. Contrary to his statement in his address to the nation that he “will not avoid legal or political responsibility. Whether impeachment or investigation, I will face it with confidence,” he has instead resorted to a blanket refusal to cooperate, leading legal experts to argue that a swift compulsory investigation is now necessary.

According to the Constitutional Court on the 17th, President Yoon has not received the National Assembly’s impeachment resolution sent by the Constitutional Court since the 16th. Lee Jin, the Constitutional Court’s public relations officer, stated in a briefing that day, “It was delivered to the Office of the President by courier, and an administrative officer accepted it, but the receipt has not been confirmed.” The daily special delivery mail sent to the presidential office and official residence also remains undelivered, and the electronic document forwarded to the presidential office has not yet been acknowledged.

President Yoon is also refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The Joint Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law (JIH) announced on the 17th that “the summons sent to President Yoon’s residence on the 16th was returned marked ‘refused to accept.’” The JIH also attempted a second search and seizure of the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 17th to secure communication records of the secure phone calls between Police Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho and President Yoon but failed.

President Yoon remains unresponsive to the prosecution’s second notice to appear on the 21st. He had already on refused to appear before prosecutors on the 15th, claiming that his defense team had yet to be appointed. As his legal team has now started taking shape, legal analysts predict that if he refuses the summons again, a compulsory investigation, including an arrest warrant request, will begin. President Yoon’s attorney Seok Dong-hyun commented on the 21st regarding his possible attendance, “It is difficult to confirm at this point. He will not appear tomorrow (the 21st),” adding, “Investigative agencies seem to be competing to issue summons and attendance requests, and this situation needs to be addressed.”


Dong-Jun Heo hungry@donga.com