▲ Former President Yoon Suk Yeol
The 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating cases remaining after the three major special investigations (insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the Marine Corps corporal's death), has summoned former President Yoon Suk Yeol for a second round of questioning, which lasted approximately nine hours.
The special counsel team interrogated Yoon, who appeared as a suspect on charges of insurrection under the Military Criminal Act, starting at around 10:00 a.m. today (June 13).
The investigation, including time for reviewing the interrogation records, concluded at approximately 6:50 p.m.
After the questioning, Yoon was transported back to the Seoul Detention Center in a Ministry of Justice vehicle.
As with his first appearance on June 6, Yoon's arrival was not disclosed to the media.
The special counsel team is investigating allegations that Yoon conspired with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-su, and others to deploy armed troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission to incite a riot.
While the crime of insurrection generally applies to military personnel, the special counsel team maintains that non-military individuals can also be punished if they conspire with military personnel.
The charge of being a "ringleader of insurrection" carries a mandatory death penalty, meaning that if Yoon is indicted and convicted on this charge, his potential sentence could be increased.
Yoon was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for his role as a ringleader of insurrection and is currently awaiting an appellate court ruling. He was also sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison in a separate first trial regarding charges of foreign aggression related to the infiltration of drones into Pyongyang, for which he has also filed an appeal.
It is reported that Yoon largely denied the allegations during today's questioning.
Yoon's legal team argues that the elements of the "insurrection ringleader" charge are already covered by the "insurrection ringleader" charge currently under trial, and therefore constitutes "double jeopardy."
They contend that because the act of deploying troops to the National Assembly is already included in the criminal facts of the insurrection case, investigating and indicting the same criminal facts under a different charge violates the constitutional principle against double jeopardy.
It is reported that after completing the scheduled suspect interrogation, Yoon was also questioned as a witness regarding charges including foreign aggression.
Yoon is expected to be summoned by the special counsel team again soon regarding allegations of the misappropriation of official residence budgets.
Other investigations by the special counsel team, including allegations of suppressing the Deutsch Motors investigation involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee and preferential treatment regarding the relocation of the Yangpyeong expressway, are also expected to focus on Yoon as the "pinnacle" of the cases.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.