The second comprehensive special prosecutor's team, led by Kwon Chang-young and investigating cases left over from three preceding special counsel probes — covering insurrection, Kim Keon Hee and the death of a Marine — summoned former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday morning for questioning as a suspect on charges of "mutiny" under the Military Criminal Act.
It is the special prosecutor team's second questioning of Yoon. The first, on June 6, examined him as a suspect on abuse-of-power charges related to allegations that he relayed messages justifying the martial law declaration.
Yoon arrived at the interrogation room via a below-ground entrance in a Ministry of Justice transport vehicle. His arrival was not made public.
The special prosecutor team is investigating allegations that Yoon conspired with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-su and others to send armed soldiers to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, triggering a riot.
Mutiny charges apply in principle only to military personnel, but the special prosecutor team concluded that Yoon can be prosecuted even as a civilian because he allegedly conspired with soldiers.
The charge of leading a mutiny carries only one statutory penalty — death — meaning a conviction could result in a heavier sentence for Yoon.
Yoon was sentenced to life in prison at the first-instance trial on charges of leading an insurrection, and that case is currently before an appeals court. He was also sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison at the first-instance trial on foreign-enemy charges related to the alleged dispatch of drones over Pyongyang, and has appealed that verdict as well.
Yoon's legal team has pushed back, arguing that the elements of the mutiny-leadership charge are already subsumed within the insurrection-leadership charge currently being tried, making the new indictment double jeopardy. They contend that the act of sending troops to the National Assembly is already included in the insurrection charge.
The special prosecutor team said it plans to review the legal merits based on Yoon's explanations and statements Friday before deciding whether to indict him.
klee@heraldcorp.com
