South Korea Ex-President Yoon resists detention attempt wearing only underwear

By Lee Haye-ah, SEOUL, Aug. 1: Jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday resisted a special counsel team's attempt to detain him by lying on the floor of his prison cell wearing only his underwear, the team said.

Assistant special counsel Moon Hong-ju, a prosecutor and an investigator from special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, sought to execute a detention warrant for Yoon at Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, just south of the capital, after he repeatedly snubbed summonses.

They withdrew about two hours later, however, saying they had gone as far as outside Yoon's cell to direct prison officers to bring him out, but failed.

"The special counsel team advised that he voluntarily comply with the detention warrant execution, considering he is a former president, but the suspect adamantly refused while lying on the floor without wearing his prison uniform," assistant special counsel Oh Jeong-hee said during a press briefing.

The team made the same demand four times in 20- to 30-minute intervals before suspending the effort after determining the use of physical force could lead to an accident, she said.

"In the process, the team notified the suspect that it would complete the execution of the detention warrant next time, including by using physical force," Oh added.

The team sought to take Yoon to their office for questioning over allegations that he and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, meddled in candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

The detention warrant was issued by a court on Thursday after the former president twice defied the special counsel's summons earlier this week, citing health problems.

Yoon's lawyers said they delivered his medical records and a doctor's note to the detention centre on Thursday. He has been struggling to regulate his body temperature and could go blind if his eye ailment is untreated, they said.

The warrant is valid until next Thursday, and the team reportedly does not plan to try to execute it again on Friday.

"The suspect has previously stressed fairness, common sense and the principle of law, and through this incident, the nation is watching whether the law applies equally to all people," Oh said, demanding he cooperate with the special counsel as a former prosecutor, prosecutor general and president.

This is the second time a detention warrant has been issued for Yoon.

In January, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials detained Yoon at the official presidential residence under a court-issued warrant and took him to the same detention centre where he was held until his surprise release in March.

At the time, he was arrested on charges of leading an insurrection through his brief attempt to impose martial law in December.

His second arrest last month was on additional charges related to the martial law bid.

Even if Yoon is forcibly brought to the interrogation room, there is scepticism that he will comply with the questioning.

He and his wife are suspected of receiving free opinion polls from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2022 presidential election in exchange for securing the nomination of former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election later that year.

Min's team is also looking into whether Yoon violated the election law by making false statements about his wife's suspected involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme during the presidential primaries in 2021.

The team has been tasked with investigating 19 criminal allegations against the former first lady.