Questioned for 6 hours 30 minutes as suspect

Allegations he directed officials to justify martial law to allied nations

Yoon says he gave no specific instructions

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol [Yonhap]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol [Yonhap]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces allegations that he ordered officials to convey to the United States and other allied nations that his Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration was justified, appeared before the second comprehensive special prosecutor team led by Kwon Chang-young on Saturday for questioning. It was the first time Yoon had been summoned by the special prosecutor team as a suspect since the probe launched in February.

The special prosecutor team questioned Yoon as a suspect for approximately six hours and 30 minutes, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After the session ended, Yoon boarded a Ministry of Justice transport vehicle and was taken to Seoul Detention Center.

The special prosecutor team is understood to have investigated whether Yoon, immediately after declaring emergency martial law on Dec. 3 last year, directed the presidential office's National Security Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver messages to the United States and other allied nations justifying the declaration.

The National Security Office reportedly asked the National Intelligence Service the day after the martial law declaration to brief allied nations on the background of the measure, and investigators found that Yoon's message was passed along in the process.

The special prosecutor team determined that an overseas division under the NIS first deputy director translated the content into English on the orders of former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong and briefed a CIA counterpart on the matter.

The message is understood to have included statements such as "This measure is intended to defend liberal democracy" and "President Yoon Suk Yeol maintains his stance of standing against pro-North Korea leftists and anti-American sentiment."

During Saturday's questioning, the special prosecutor team is understood to have probed the circumstances under which Yoon drafted and ordered the distribution of the martial law justification message.

Yoon denied the allegations, saying he never instructed the National Security Office or other agencies to deliver any message justifying the martial law declaration.

Yoon's defense attorney told Yonhap News Agency in a phone interview that Yoon "gave no detailed instructions to the National Security Office or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nor did he receive any after-the-fact reports," adding that he "merely made a general remark to the effect of 'handle public communications well.'"

The special prosecutor team had earlier announced it would allow media to observe Yoon's arrival for questioning, but reversed course after Yoon's legal team objected and conducted the summons without press access. As a result, neither his entry into the interrogation room nor his return to the detention center was made public.


moon@heraldcorp.com