The second special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young has notified former President Yoon Suk-yeol to appear for questioning later this month.
According to legal sources Friday, the special counsel team demanded that Yoon appear on the 26th for questioning as a suspect in connection with charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. The team believes that immediately after declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon conveyed messages asserting the legitimacy of the emergency martial law to allied nations, including the United States, through the National Security Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The messages reportedly contained content such as "this measure is to protect liberal democracy" and "President Yoon Suk-yeol maintains a position of opposing pro-North Korea leftists and anti-Americanism." The special counsel team applied the charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, concluding that he had directed Foreign Ministry officials to perform duties outside their obligations in the process of delivering the messages.
This marks the first time Yoon has been summoned in connection with the alleged "martial law justification messages." The special counsel team has requested Yoon's appearance three times to date, but he failed to attend the previous two summonses.
Yoon's side says it has not yet decided whether he will appear. The special counsel team plans to first question Kim Tae-hyo, former first deputy director of the National Security Office, as a suspect on Saturday.
