Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has once again defied a summons to appear for questioning, escalating the ongoing political crisis in the country, Al Jazeera reports.
This marks the second time in a week that Yoon has refused to cooperate with investigators looking into his controversial declaration of martial law.
Yoon failed to appear at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, on Wednesday morning, where he was ordered to answer questions regarding allegations of insurrection and abuse of power. His repeated refusal to attend questioning has further fueled public debate about his actions and the legitimacy of his presidency.
This development follows Yoon’s previous failure to respond to a separate summons by prosecutors on December 15, demonstrating a pattern of non-compliance with the legal processes initiated against him.
Impeachment and Constitutional Court Deliberation
President Yoon, a former top-ranking prosecutor, was impeached by the National Assembly on December 14th in a 204-85 vote, leading to his suspension from office. The impeachment stemmed from his brief but deeply controversial declaration of martial law on December 4, which he claims was necessary to tackle “anti-state forces.” This move has been widely condemned as an abuse of power and has plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.
The Constitutional Court of Korea is now deliberating whether to uphold the impeachment motion and permanently remove Yoon from office. At least six of the nine justices must approve the motion for it to pass. The court has scheduled its first public hearing on the matter for December 27, with a final ruling potentially taking up to six months. Should the court uphold the impeachment, new presidential elections would be held within two months.
Yoon has maintained that his actions were legal and has pledged to “fairly confront” the investigations against him, despite repeatedly refusing to appear for questioning.
