South Korea: Ex-President Yoon to appear at special counsel's office Saturday

Seoul, June 27 Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers said on Friday that he will appear at Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk's office on Saturday for questioning on charges related to December 3 martial law imposition.

Earlier this week, Cho's team demanded that Yoon appear in public at its office in the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul at 9 a.m. Saturday to be questioned as a suspect after a court rejected its detention warrant request for him.

But Yoon's lawyers have requested that his appearance at the special counsel's office not be made public and be delayed about an hour to around 10 a.m.

Specifically, they demanded that Yoon enter the office through its underground parking lot. Cho's office has rejected Yoon's request, saying it can be seen as preferential treatment, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Even if there is no agreement regarding the method of appearance, there is no change in Yoon's decision to appear (at the special counsel's office) tomorrow," a lawyer for Yoon told. "We'll go there tomorrow and discuss it again on the site."

Earlier on June 26, Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers said that he wishes to appear in private at Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk's office to be questioned about charges related to the December 3 martial law imposition.

"An open and humiliating summoning is not an investigation but a political act," they said in a statement, noting the special counsel's office did not have prior consultations about the time and place of questioning the suspect, nor give any notice about the prosecutor in charge of the case.

They added that the prosecution allowed a closed-door appearance for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk in the past.

Cho's team seeks to investigate Yoon on charges of ordering the Presidential Security Service to block the execution of a detention warrant against him by the state anti-corruption investigation agency in early January and delete his phone records with military commanders over his December 3 martial law imposition.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the special counsel's request to detain Yoon.

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