Yoon Suk Yeol to appear before comprehensive special counsel Saturday over martial law justification scheme

By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business

The second comprehensive special counsel team — tasked with investigating allegations left unresolved after three earlier special counsel probes into insurrection, first lady Kim Keon Hee and the Marine Corps corporal case — said it will open former President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrival for questioning to the public Saturday. Yoon faces charges of abuse of authority in connection with alleged efforts to send messages justifying the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration to allied nations.

The special counsel team made the announcement at a briefing Sunday afternoon at its offices in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, saying it decided to allow public coverage of Yoon's arrival in consideration of the public's right to know. It will be the first time the team has summoned Yoon for questioning.

According to the special counsel team, Yoon is suspected of using the National Security Office, the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relay messages to the United States and other allied countries justifying the martial law declaration. Earlier, the team questioned former first deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo on May 15 and May 18 on charges of playing a key role in the insurrection.

However, Yoon's legal team said in a notice Sunday that "discussions with the special counsel are still ongoing and the public disclosure of his appearance has not been finalized."

The special counsel team suspects the National Security Office sent the NIS a request — along with a document written in Korean — asking it to explain the background of the martial law declaration to allied nations. Former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong is suspected of ordering former first deputy director Hong Jang-won's overseas division to translate the document and then brief the CIA station chief in South Korea.

The team questioned former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong on Sunday morning on charges of playing a key role in the insurrection. Former deputy director Hong had been questioned on the same charges on May 22, after which he denied the allegations. "I think there may have been room for misunderstanding given my central position at the NIS," Hong said at the time.

The special counsel team has ordered Hong to appear for a second round of questioning Friday. Deputy special counsel Kim said the session would focus primarily on Hong's whereabouts from the night of Dec. 3, when emergency martial law was declared, through the early hours of Dec. 4, when it was lifted. Hong has not yet indicated whether he will comply, according to sources.

Also on Sunday morning, the team questioned Ahn Seong-sik, former planning and coordination officer of the Korea Coast Guard, on charges of aiding and abetting the insurrection in connection with allegations that the coast guard participated in the martial law operation. The insurrection special counsel led by Cho Eun-seok had previously investigated Ahn and cleared him of charges, but the current team said it has since indicted him following additional investigation.

Regarding allegations that the Joint Chiefs of Staff participated in the martial law operation, the team said questioning of former JCS Chairman Kim Myeong-su confirmed that preparations for emergency martial law began around November 2023, and that multiple working-level officials had raised concerns at the time about the declaration itself and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.

In connection with allegations that Kim Keon Hee's family received preferential treatment from a route change for the Yangpyeong Expressway project during the Yoon administration, the team has completed a search and seizure of the Presidential Archives and is analyzing the materials. It plans to question witnesses regarding former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong's 2023 announcement scrapping the project after the preferential treatment controversy emerged.

On May 28, the team raided the homes and offices of four individuals — former Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun, former Gangwon Province Police Commissioner Kim Do-hyeong and two current and former officers from the KNPA's criminal intelligence division — over allegations that the agency suppressed an investigation into reports that senior Unification Church officials had engaged in overseas gambling. The team plans to question a criminal intelligence division officer as a suspect this week.

In connection with allegations that an investigation into Kim Keon Hee's involvement with Deutsch Motors was improperly shelved, the team has questioned prosecutors who served in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's anti-corruption investigation unit at the time. The unit's then-chief, Choi Jae-hun, has been indicted on charges of falsifying official documents and had his mobile phone seized. The team also raided the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's information and communications division.

Regarding allegations that a probe into the Dior bag incident was suppressed, the team said it seized mobile phones and other items from three personnel officials in the Ministry of Justice's prosecution bureau around May 2024 and has requested forensic analysis from the National Forensic Service.

Former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-gi and former presidential office administrative secretary Yoon Jae-soon were detained May 22 on allegations of illegally diverting budget funds during the relocation of the presidential office and residence under the Yoon administration. Their detention period has been extended through June 10. Former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is scheduled to be questioned in connection with the same allegations Thursday.