President Yoon expected to defy third summons citing lawfulness

[Anchor]

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has notified President Yoon Suk Yeol to appear tomorrow (Dec. 29) at 10 AM.

This is the third notification for his appearance.

There are speculations that if he does not show up again, there may be a possibility of arrest, but President Yoon's side has indicated he will not attend.

Kim Young-hoon reports.

[Report]

In a press release issued yesterday (Dec. 27) when former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was indicted, President Yoon Suk Yeol was mentioned 47 times.

He was mentioned even more than the former minister, and the prosecution revealed that President Yoon made statements such as "Arrest all the members of the National Assembly," "I can declare martial law two or three times, so just keep proceeding," and "Take this opportunity to bring them all in."

It seems the judgement was that it would be impossible to understand the entirety of the case without explaining President Yoon's involvement, who is facing charges of being the 'leader of a rebellion.'

In particular, because it is necessary to prove that a riot was instigated for the purpose of violating the constitution in order to establish the charge of rebellion, the acts of rebellion in explaining President Yoon's charges has been classified into three categories: blocking the National Assembly and obstructing voting, organizing and operating arrest teams, as well as attempts to export the election commission's server and arrest key staff.

President Yoon's side has stated that the prosecution's allegations are "a list of unilateral statements."

Looking at the statements and evidence secured by the prosecution, it is now essentially a situation where only the investigation of President Yoon remains. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which received the case from the prosecution, has notified President Yoon of a third appearance, but a day before the investigation date, President Yoon's side expressed today (Dec. 27) that they would not comply with the appearance.

[Yoon Gap-geun/Legal representative of President Yoon: "First of all, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials does not have investigative authority regarding the charge of rebellion. It's not a matter of whether to go or not; there must be a lawful summons to respond to."]

Typically, if a suspect does not comply with summons for about three times, the investigative agency requests an arrest warrant.

If President Yoon does not appear again, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is expected to consider measures to secure his custody, including requesting an arrest warrant.

KBS News, Kim Young-hoon.