South Korea: Ex-President Yoon's lawyers ask for his private appearance before special counsel

Seoul, June 26 (IANS) Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers said on Thursday that he wishes to appear in private at Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk's office on Saturday to be questioned about charges related to the December 3 martial law imposition.

Earlier this week, Cho's team demanded that Yoon appear in public at its office in the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul at 9 a.m. Saturday to be questioned as a suspect after a court rejected its detention warrant request for him.

But Yoon's lawyers requested that his appearance at the special counsel's office not be made public and be delayed about an hour to around 10 a.m.

"An open and humiliating summoning is not an investigation but a political act," they said in a statement, noting the special counsel's office did not have prior consultations about the time and place of questioning the suspect, nor give any notice about the prosecutor in charge of the case.

They added that the prosecution allowed a closed-door appearance for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk in the past.

Cho's team seeks to investigate Yoon on charges of ordering the Presidential Security Service to block the execution of a detention warrant against him by the state anti-corruption investigation agency in early January and delete his phone records with military commanders over his December 3 martial law imposition.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the special counsel's request to detain Yoon on Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier on June 25, Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers had said that an independent counsel's request for a detention warrant for him is an unlawful act that lacks procedural legitimacy and violates his right to defence.

They made the claim in a written opinion submitted to the Seoul Central District Court, which is expected to decide whether to approve the warrant to detain Yoon on Wednesday at the earliest.

Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk's team filed for the detention warrant with the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, accusing Yoon of ordering the Presidential Security Service to block the execution of a detention warrant against him by the state anti-corruption investigation agency in early January and delete his phone records with military commanders over his December 3 martial law imposition.

Cho's team also cited Yoon's refusal to comply with three summons from the police for questioning over the allegations.

"Former President Yoon has not received a single summons notice from the special prosecutor to date. He has not even been given any information about the location of the special prosecutor's office, the prosecutor in charge and the prosecutor's office to be questioned," Yoon's lawyers said in the written opinion, Yonhap news agency reported.

--IANS

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