South Korean imprisoned president refuses on-site questioning by lawmakers about martial law decree
ISTANBUL
Imprisoned South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol refused on-site questioning by lawmakers on Wednesday about his short-lived martial law decree, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.
Key officials such as the former commander of the South Korean intelligence agency, Noh Sang-won, and the former colonel of the agency, Kim Yong-gun, refused to attend the hearing alongside Yoon.
The hearing took place at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang.
Separately, South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik assured China about the political stability in the country in the wake of Yoon’s shocking Dec. 3 martial law decree.
Woo is leading a delegation to China and told Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, that South Korea “is not unstable at all as the National Assembly made history by immediately preventing martial law from taking effect, and we are addressing the issue in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws.”
Soon after Yoon imposed martial law, lawmakers rushed to parliament, many jumping fences to avoid a blockade by police to enter the legislature, where they passed a motion forcing Yoon to overturn his decision on the night of Dec. 3.
Woo extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, a historic city in eastern South Korea.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for abuse of power and leading an insurrection, making him the first sitting president to be arrested. He is also subject to a travel ban.
Suspended from office since Dec. 14, when parliament voted for impeachment, his case is now before the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
Yoon was first detained on Jan. 15 and formally arrested on Jan. 19 in a widening probe into the botched martial law decree, which he defended. He was indicted Jan. 26.
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