Embattled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declined to participate in a second day of questioning on Thursday, his lawyer confirmed, as the nation grapples with an unprecedented political crisis. Yoon, the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, is facing allegations of insurrection tied to a failed martial law attempt on December 3.
Yoon was taken into custody Wednesday evening at the Seoul Detention Centre after refusing to cooperate with investigators. Authorities have a 48-hour window to question him before deciding to release him or seek an extended detention warrant of up to 20 days.
Yoon’s legal team has strongly denied the allegations, arguing that the arrest warrant was illegal due to jurisdictional errors and procedural violations. They have filed a request for a court review to determine the legality of the arrest. Yoon has also protested his detention, describing the investigation as "illegal" and the warrant as "invalid."
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), leading the inquiry, had prepared a 200-page questionnaire for Yoon. However, officials reported that Yoon refused to answer any questions on the first day of questioning.
Yoon Kab-keun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, stated that the president will not attend further questioning, citing health reasons and dismissing the process as pointless.
The Constitutional Court is concurrently conducting hearings to decide whether to uphold Yoon's impeachment, which was passed by parliament on December 14 following his martial law attempt. If upheld, the impeachment would permanently remove him from office.
Opinion polls indicate that a majority of South Koreans support Yoon’s impeachment. However, his arrest has galvanized his core supporters, some of whom staged protests outside the CIO office on Thursday, denouncing the president's detention as illegitimate.
Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law has plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades, causing ripples across Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The South Korean won has fallen to a 15-year low against the U.S. dollar amid political instability.
In an unexpected move, the central bank opted to hold its policy interest rate steady on Thursday, resisting calls for further cuts as it seeks to stabilize the economy and support the weakening currency.
As the crisis deepens, South Korea awaits critical decisions on Yoon's legal and political future, which could have lasting impacts on the nation’s governance and economic stability.