South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been directed by prosecutors to appear by Saturday for questioning regarding his failed attempt to impose martial law, it was reported.
Mr Yoon’s refusal to comply with the order could lead to an arrest warrant, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Mr Yoon on Monday resisted calls from investigators to answer questions about his failed attempt to impose martial law earlier this month.
A summons for Mr Yoon to appear for questioning over alleged insurrection was delivered to the presidential residence on Tuesday but returned, the agency quoted a joint investigation team as saying.
If he responds to the summons, it will be the first time in history that a sitting president appears before prosecutors as a suspect.
The South Korean leader was impeached on Saturday through a second vote in parliament over his attempt to impose martial law, a move that threw the nation into chaos and split his party.
Meanwhile, Mr Yoon’s legal defence team said on Tuesday his brief declaration of martial law on 3 December does not constitute insurrection.
Mr Yoon denies the insurrection charges and will present his position in court if a public hearing is held during his impeachment trial, his lawyers told the media.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court is set to decide whether to reinstate or remove Mr Yoon after the National Assembly impeached him. He is currently suspended from office with prime minister Han Duck Soo serving as the interim leader.
Mr Yoon is under investigation for alleged insurrection by both South Korean prosecutors and a joint team of police, the defence ministry and anti-corruption authorities.
“President Yoon will state his position in court confidently and according to his own convictions,” a lawyer on his team, Seok Dong Hyeon, said.
“The president is not giving a single thought to the insurrection charges as a legal concept, but realistically, since investigation agencies are acting this way, there will be a response to the investigation,” he added, according to Yonhap.
Mr Yoon, who is under a travel ban, faces possible life imprisonment or even the death penalty if found guilty.
On Monday, the leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party resigned for backing Mr Yoon’s impeachment over his attempt to impose martial law.
Han Dong Hoon, once a close ally of Mr Yoon, said he was concerned about violence breaking out if martial law hadn’t been lifted, and defended his decision as a stance against illegal actions. “Martial law in the advanced nation that’s South Korea, in 2024. How angry and disappointed must you have all been?” he said at a press conference on Monday.
North Korean state media reacted to Mr Yoon’s impeachment on Monday, calling him a “ringleader of rebellion”.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency criticised Mr Yoon for attempting to shift blame for his “foolish emergency martial law declaration” onto opposition parties.
“The investigation into puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, the ringleader of the rebellion, and his accomplices is under way,” it added.
