Yoon fails to respond to third summons for questioning

Reporters wait outside the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, located inside the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to respond to a third summons requesting his appearance for questioning at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, by 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The summons issued Thursday by the joint investigation authorities — which is comprised of the CIO, the police and the Ministry of National Defense's Criminal Investigation Command — came a day after Yoon ignored their second summons on Christmas Day.

It was confirmed that Yoon refused to accept the delivery of the third summons by mail. In addition, his team has not submitted any documents to the investigation authorities, such as the appointment of legal counsel or security arrangements, in preparation for his appearance.

The joint investigation headquarters had previously attempted to summon Yoon for questioning as a suspect on Dec. 18 and Wednesday but failed to deliver the summons on both occasions.

As Yoon failed to respond to the third summons, which is generally considered a final warning, the CIO is expected to start considering seeking an arrest warrant for him.

Crowds gather at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Saturday to participate in rallies calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol's resignation. Yonhap

Yoon's failure to comply with the third summons came as no surprise.

Yun Gap-geun, one of Yoon's legal representatives who attended the Constitutional Court's first preparatory hearing for the impeachment trial on Friday, told reporters that the defense team questions whether the CIO even has investigative authority.

"There are too many legal issues to consider, so we plan to review everything comprehensively before deciding on a response (regarding whether to attend the questioning session)," Yun said after the hearing, signaling Yoon's refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

He also said, “Due process must be followed before any further discussions can take place,” while asserting that charges of treason against the president are not included within the scope of the CIO's investigation.

However, joint investigation authorities indicated that the CIO, having taken over Yoon’s case from the police and prosecutors, could expand the investigation to include treason charges as related crimes to the current investigation on charges of abuse of power against Yoon.

Meanwhile, Yoon's team has submitted a notification of the election of legal representation to the Constitutional Court but has not yet done so with the CIO.