Riyaz ul Khaliq
17 January 2025•Update: 17 January 2025
ISTANBUL
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has again snubbed investigators questioning him over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law decree, said local press reports Friday.
With Yoon held at the Seoul Detention Center since Wednesday night, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is seeking a court warrant to formally arrest Yoon, Yonhap News reported.
After charging Yoon with "leading an insurrection and abuse of power," the anti-graft body told the court that Yoon should be arrested due to the gravity of the crime and the risk of recidivism.
The court will meet Saturday to rule on the request, the first such request for a sitting president in South Korea's history.
Yoon was arrested on the second attempt by a joint team of investigators led by the anti-graft body on Wednesday.
He was questioned by investigators for more than 10 hours on Wednesday but reportedly remained silent on charges of insurrection and abuse of power over his short-lived martial law declaration.
Later, he was held at the detention center and has since refused twice to take part in questioning, citing health reasons.
He is set to complete 48 hours in detention Friday night, local time.
A court Thursday rejected Yoon's appeal to review the legality of his detention.
Police Friday also detained Yoon’s acting security chief, Kim Seong-hoon, who has been accused of leading efforts to block Yoon’s detention.
He was given charge of presidential security following the resignation of his predecessor, Park Chong-jun.
Park was at the forefront when investigators on Jan. 3 failed to arrest Yoon. Soon he was called for questioning over obstruction of state officials, after which he resigned.
