[News Today] DETAINED YOON REJECTS QUESTIONING

[LEAD]
President Yoon was detained on Sunday. This comes in 47 days after emergency martial law was declared. President Yoon Suk Yeol remains uncooperative with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, even after his detention warrant was issued.

[REPORT]
The first-ever formal detention of a sitting president in the nation's constitutional history.

The Seoul Western District Court issued the detention warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, citing concerns about a possible destruction of evidence by him.

In a warrant review hearing, the court did not accept his legal team's argument that the December 3 emergency martial law decree had been legitimate and Yoon posed no risk of flight and evidence destruction.

As the detention warrant was issued, Yoon's defense counsel strongly protested, saying that legalism perished and legal conscience disappeared.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials made a brief comment, saying that it will conduct an investigation in accordance with law and principles.

Yoon will be detained for as long as 20 days for questioning. But he again rejected the CIO's summons on Sunday afternoon, saying that he has nothing more to say to the agency.

The president has rejected all the CIO's requests to attend questioning since he was questioned last week shortly after his arrest.

The CIO rescheduled the questioning to 10 a.m. Monday. But Yoon again refused to turn up.

With the detention warrant issued, Yoon is treated as a suspect and a pre-trial inmate.

As such, he was given an inmate number and underwent a physical check-up with his mugshot taken in accordance with the formal procedures.

Yoon was also moved to a prison from the waiting room for detained suspects.

But he is known to be given a solitary cell measuring some 9.9 square meters, considering his status as incumbent president.