Seoul, Aug 6 (IANS) A special counsel team will make its second attempt to execute a warrant to detain jailed former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday to bring him in for questioning over election meddling allegations involving him and his wife, judicial sources said.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team will make the attempt at the Seoul Detention Centre, where Yoon is currently in custody over his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, the sources said Wednesday.
The warrant for Yoon is set to expire end-Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported.
Min’s team, which is investigating various corruption allegations involving Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, tried to bring in the former President last Friday for questioning over allegations he and his wife meddled in candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.
But Yoon resisted the team’s attempt to execute the detention warrant by lying on the floor of his prison cell wearing only his underwear, according to the special counsel.
The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday its minister, Jung Sung-ho, has ordered the Seoul Detention Centre to “actively” cooperate with the special counsel’s warrant execution.
After its first attempt failed, the special counsel team told the press it will execute the warrant even if it means they have to use physical force and apply for a new warrant if necessary.
The detention warrant was issued by a court last Thursday after the former president twice defied the special counsel’s summons, citing health problems.
Yoon and his wife are suspected of receiving free opinion polls from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2022 presidential election in exchange for securing the nomination of former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election later that year.
— IANS
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