Yoon Suk Yeol appears before special counsel as suspect in martial law justification case

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared before the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's team on Saturday as a suspect on charges of obstruction of rights through abuse of authority. He faces allegations that he ordered officials to send messages to foreign allies justifying his declaration of emergency martial law.

The special counsel team had previously summoned former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won as a suspect on May 22, and former NIS Director Cho on June 1.

Yoon, held at Seoul Detention Center, arrived at the special counsel's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, by Ministry of Justice transport vehicle Saturday morning and was escorted directly to an interrogation room. Supporters of the former president gathered outside the office, holding pickets and chanting slogans.

The special counsel team had initially announced through a briefing that it would allow media to observe Yoon's arrival, but reversed course after his legal team objected.

Yoon's side argued that publicly exposing a detained suspect's arrival at an investigative agency without restriction would be unlawful. As a result, Yoon entered the interrogation room directly through an underground parking garage, away from media.

Yoon is accused of directing the presidential office's National Security Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey messages to allied nations — including the United States — asserting that the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration was justified. The messages reportedly included statements such as "This measure is to defend liberal democracy" and "President Yoon Suk Yeol stands against pro-North Korea leftists and anti-American forces."

The National Security Council, which received those instructions, passed Yoon's messages to the NIS the day after the martial law declaration, along with a request to "explain the background of the emergency martial law to allied nations," investigators found.

The special counsel team plans to question Yoon on Saturday about his intent in drafting the martial law justification messages and the circumstances under which he ordered them to be delivered.