Ousted former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in detention while on trial and facing various criminal probes, lay on the floor of his cell yesterday and refused to leave it for questioning, a spokesperson for a special prosecutor said.
Yoon was removed from office in April by the South Korean Constitutional Court over his botched attempt last year to declare martial law and is now being investigated by a special prosecution team formed under new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Prosecutors investigating influence-peddling allegations connected to Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, had tried to get him to comply with an arrest warrant and attend questioning voluntarily, a spokesperson for the special prosecution said.
Photo: Reuters
“However, the suspect stubbornly refused to do so, while lying on the ground, not dressed in a prison uniform,” Oh Jung-hee, the spokesperson for the special prosecution, told a news briefing.
She said investigators would try again to bring him in, even if they had to use force.
Yoon was dressed only in his undershirt and underwear when prosecutors came to his cell, the Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the special prosecution.
Yu Jeong-hwa, one of Yoon’s lawyers, said that bringing up what he was wearing in a small space where the temperature was close to 40°C was a public insult to his dignity and showed how the state was contravening inmates’ human rights.
The former president was put back in a solitary cell at the Seoul Detention Center in last month, as prosecutors investigating his short-lived declaration of martial law in December last year sought additional charges against him.
Yoon is already on trial for insurrection, a charge which is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
He also faces a string of other investigations, including one into scandals surrounding former first lady Kim, where the couple allegedly exerted inappropriate influence over elections.
The former president has repeatedly rejected requests by prosecutors to appear for questioning, citing health issues.
His lawyers on Thursday said that he was unwell due to preexisting conditions, including a condition that meant there was a risk of him losing his eyesight.
In a reference to Yoon’s position as a former top prosecutor, Oh said the case was being closely scrutinized by the public.
“The suspect has consistently highlighted the importance of laws, principles, fairness and common sense, and through this case people are watching if the law applies equally to everyone,” Oh said.
READINESS: According to a survey of 2,000 people, 86 percent of Swedes believe the country is worth defending in the event of a military attack Swedes are stocking up on food items in case of war, as more conflict in Europe no longer feels like a distant possibility, and authorities encourage measures to boost readiness. At a civil preparedness fair in southwest Stockholm, 71-year-old Sirkka Petrykowska said that she is taking the prospect of hostilities seriously and preparing as much as she can. “I have bought a camping stove. I have taken a course on preservation in an old-fashioned way, where you can preserve vegetables, meat and fruit that lasts for 30 years without a refrigerator,” Petrykowska said. “I’ve set aside blankets for warmth, I
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
IN THE AIR: With no compromise on the budget in sight, more air traffic controllers are calling in sick, which has led to an estimated 13,000 flight delays, the FAA said Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff. Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay. With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs. Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers
RSS