South Korean investigators push to summon impeached President Yoon, as court set determine his fate

South Korean authorities seek to question impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree, sparking political turmoil.

South Korean law enforcement authorities are pushing to summon impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree as the Constitutional Court began its first meeting Monday (December 16, 2024) on Mr. Yoon’s case to determine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him.

A joint investigative team involving police, an anti-corruption agency and the Defence Ministry said it plans to convey a request to Mr. Yoon’s office that he appear for questioning on Wednesday (December 11, 2024), as they expand a probe into whether his ill-conceived power grab amounted to rebellion.

Mr. Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Saturday (December 14, 2024) over his Dec. 3 martial law decree. His presidential powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him. If Mr. Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.

Mr. Yoon has justified his martial law enforcement as a necessary act of governance against the main liberal opposition Democratic Party that he described as “anti-state forces” bogging down his agendas and vowed to “fight to the end” against efforts to remove him from office.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of the country’s capital, Seoul, in recent days, calling for Mr. Yoon’s ouster and arrest.

It remains unclear whether Mr. Yoon will grant the request by investigators for an interview. South Korean prosecutors, who are pushing a separate investigation into the incident, also reportedly asked Mr. Yoon to appear at a prosecution office for questioning on Sunday (December 15, 2024) but he refused to do so. Repeated calls to a prosecutors’ office in Seoul were unanswered.

Mr. Yoon’s presidential security service has also resisted a police attempt to search Mr. Yoon’s office for evidence.