Without presidential status, Yoon faces simultaneous criminal investigations

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol bows his head while answering questions from reporters during a press conference at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 9, 2024. Newsis

Criminal investigations into multiple allegations against former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee are expected to accelerate, following the Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling on Friday to remove him from office, which also lifted the presidential privileges protecting him from criminal prosecution.

Now that Yoon no longer has presidential status, authority or privileges, investigative authorities — including the police, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the prosecution — are expected to fully pursue the allegations, which have so far seen limited progress due to presidential immunity. The former president may be detained again during the investigations.

As to his Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the prosecution earlier indicted him only for rebellion, but not for other related charges, because the Constitution grants the president immunity from criminal charges except in cases of rebellion.

But now prosecutors are likely to indict him with additional accusations such as abuse of power. The Constitutional Court’s decision recognized the unconstitutionality and illegality of Yoon’s deployment of armed forces to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting to lift martial law.

Yoon may also face a charge of interfering in public officials’ duty, as he ordered the Presidential Security Service to block investigators' attempt to execute a detention warrant against him.

The police and the prosecution may proceed with in-person questioning of him, which had not taken place before Yoon was detained as he refused to follow the requests to appear.

Besides accusations regarding the martial law fiasco, the former president and his wife are involved in election interference allegations involving political broker Myung Tae-kyun.

Last year, allegations surfaced that the former first couple meddled in the ruling People Power Party’s candidate nominations for the 2022 by-elections and the 2024 general elections.

Myung, currently under investigation, claims that Yoon and his wife exerted undue influence over the nomination process and his agency conducted public opinion polls for the former president without receiving any pay as a form of bribery. Although prosecutors had exempted Yoon from the allegations while arresting and charging Myung last December, the investigations are expected to advance and extend to the former president.

If Yoon and Kim's involvement is confirmed, they would face charges of violating the laws on political funds and public official election.

Meanwhile, the CIO plans to look into Yoon's alleged involvement in the military's probe into the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun, who died during a search-and-rescue operation for flood victims in 2023.

It was alleged that Yoon, top officials from the former presidential office and the leadership of the defense ministry attempted to exempt specific top figures in the military from their responsibilities.

The CIO, which halted the relevant investigation following the martial law fiasco, plans to resume investigations into former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and former Defense Secretary Lim Ki-hoon, who are accused of trying to cover up the investigation of the Marine's death and coordinate affairs between the presidential office and the ministry upon Yoon’s order at the time.