Yoon faces second round of questioning by special prosecutor on military mutiny charges

By Jung Yoon-hee, The Herald Business

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to appear Saturday before the second comprehensive special prosecutor's team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating cases left unresolved after three earlier special counsel probes into insurrection, first lady Kim Keon Hee, and the death of a Marine Corps corporal.

The special prosecutor's team is scheduled to question Yoon beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, with him appearing as a suspect under the Military Criminal Act on charges of mutiny. It is the second time the team has summoned him for questioning.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Yoon conspired with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-su and others to dispatch armed soldiers to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, triggering an armed uprising.

Mutiny charges under military law generally apply to military personnel, but the special prosecutor's team has determined that civilians who conspired with soldiers can also be held criminally liable.

The charge of leading a mutiny carries only one statutory penalty: death. A conviction on this charge 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 is now awaiting his appeal hearing.

Yoon's legal team argues that the elements of the mutiny charge are already subsumed within the insurrection leadership charge currently before the courts, and that the new prosecution therefore constitutes double jeopardy.

The special prosecutor's team first summoned Yoon for questioning on June 6 — 101 days after it was launched — when he appeared as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority related to allegations that he relayed messages seeking to justify the martial law declaration.

During that session, Yoon refused to cooperate throughout the morning, objecting to being questioned by seconded police officers. He agreed to participate only after a deputy special prosecutor joined the session in the afternoon. The questioning began around 1:30 p.m. and lasted approximately two hours.

Yoon is also expected to be summoned soon in connection with allegations that presidential residence funds were misappropriated.

Investigations into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee — including the suspected suppression of a probe into Deutsche Motors and questions surrounding a highway route change in Yangpyeong — are also expected to eventually focus on Yoon as the central figure.