Former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday denied allegations that he had interfered in a navy investigation into the 2023 demise of a younger Marine, his attorneys mentioned.
The jailed former president was questioned for about seven hours by a particular counsel staff and didn’t reportedly invoke his proper to stay silent and answered many of the investigators’ questions.
Yoon faces fees of abusing his energy and aiding a felony’s flight within the case.
Investigators suspect he ordered the presidential workplace and the protection ministry to reverse the preliminary findings of a navy probe into the demise of Cpl. Chae Su-geun as a way to relieve a then Marine commander of duty.
The late Marine died in July 2023 after being swept away in a swollen stream throughout a search mission for victims of heavy rains with out sporting a life vest or different security gear.
Yoon’s attorneys informed Yonhap Information Company that his anger on the time was directed not on the investigators however on the lack of preventive measures following the incident.
Yoon additionally reportedly denied throughout Tuesday’s questioning ordering the retrieval of the investigation information that the Marine investigation staff had handed over to the police.
The previous president can also be suspected of serving to former Protection Minister Lee Jong-sup evade duty by appointing him the nation’s ambassador to Australia in March 2024.
The particular counsel staff mentioned it plans to conclude its probe into the alleged interference and is coordinating with Yoon’s attorneys to schedule a second questioning session associated to the second fees.
The questioning is predicted to happen round Sunday contemplating the protection staff’s court docket schedule.
Earlier within the day, Yoon was dropped at the workplace of particular counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon in a jail van and entered the constructing by way of underground parking, an exception to the rule that key suspects enter via the primary flooring foyer.
The particular counsel staff mentioned it allowed the exception to make sure Yoon’s security on the request of his attorneys.
Yoon had largely ignored summonses by three particular counsel groups every investigating his failed try to impose martial regulation in December, numerous corruption allegations surrounding his spouse Kim Keon Hee, and the Marine’s case.
That is the primary time he has appeared earlier than Lee’s staff, and solely the second time he has complied with any particular counsel summons.
