Former President Yoon Suk Yeol Summoned Again as Suspect: This Time for 'Ringleader of Insurrection'

[Anchor]

Just one day after being sentenced to 30 years in prison for treason, former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been summoned again by the comprehensive special counsel team. This marks his second questioning in a week, and this time, he is appearing as a suspect on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection.

Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The second summons of former President Yoon Suk Yeol by the comprehensive special counsel team began at 10:00 a.m.

It has been one week since his first summons, and the charge under investigation is insurrection under the Military Criminal Act.

This charge applies when soldiers carry weapons and incite an insurrection, and the only legal penalty for a ringleader is the death penalty.

The special counsel team believes that during the December 3 insurrection, former President Yoon conspired with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-su, and others to send armed soldiers to the National Assembly and other locations to incite a riot.

The special counsel team maintains that while the crime of insurrection is generally applied to military personnel, non-military personnel who conspire with soldiers can also be punished.

Previously, the special counsel team questioned former Minister Kim as a suspect for insurrection on June 4.

Former President Yoon's side argues that this is an abuse of investigative power and constitutes "double jeopardy."

[Song Jin-ho / Attorney for former President Yoon Suk Yeol: The investigation was already completed through the charges of treason. Isn't the President the commander-in-chief of the military? The charge of insurrection cannot be established. It is an utterly absurd claim.]

During the questioning, the special counsel team re-examined the overall situation during the December 3 insurrection, including when and how former President Yoon intended to end the emergency martial law. It is understood that former President Yoon denied the charges, maintaining that the martial law was lawful.

The special counsel team plans to decide whether to indict former President Yoon after reviewing the legal aspects of the investigation. It is reported that they are also considering adding the insurrection charge to the existing indictment through an amendment to the bill of indictment, rather than filing a separate case.

In addition to the charge of being the ringleader of an insurrection, the special counsel team also questioned former President Yoon as a witness regarding allegations that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including former Chairman Kim Myung-soo, participated in the insurrection.

(Video Editing: Choi Hye-young, Design: Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.