South Korea's Political Turmoil: Special Prosecutors Appointed to Investigate Yoon Suk Yeol

Investigation into Former President Yoon Suk Yeol

Seoul: The Democratic Party (DP) of South Korea has put forward three candidates for the role of special prosecutors to investigate former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The inquiries will focus on his controversial martial law attempt, allegations of corruption involving his spouse, Kim Keon Hee, and the circumstances surrounding a Marine's death.

This decision follows a request from the presidential office for the DP and the minor Rebuilding Korea Party to propose nominees for these investigations after the passage of three relevant bills.

Among the nominees, Cho Eun-suk, a former acting chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, is tasked with examining 11 allegations against Yoon, which include insurrection and military mutiny related to his failed martial law attempt in December.

Min Joong-ki, the former chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, will investigate Kim Keon Hee regarding accusations of stock price manipulation, her acceptance of a luxury handbag, and her involvement in the election nomination process.

Additionally, Lee Yoon-jae, a professor at Myongji University, has been recommended to look into the Marine's death that occurred in July 2023.

Earlier in the day, the Rebuilding Korea Party also submitted its list of nominees.

President Lee Jae-myung is expected to appoint the special counsels within three days of receiving these recommendations.

The appointed special counsels will have a maximum of 20 days to prepare for their investigations, with comprehensive probes anticipated to commence early next month.

On June 11, Yoon had submitted a statement to the police regarding his planned absence from questioning related to martial law charges scheduled for later this week.

In the document provided by his attorney, Yun Gap-geun, Yoon asserted that the summons for questioning lacked legal grounds, claiming the charges against him were factually incorrect.

Yoon faces accusations of instructing the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to obstruct the execution of a detention warrant against him in early January.

He is also alleged to have ordered the PSS to erase records from secure phones used by three military commanders shortly after his failed martial law attempt on December 3, as reported by a news agency.

Yoon had previously ignored a summons to appear for questioning on June 5, according to police reports.

On June 10, President Lee enacted bills that mandate special counsel investigations into Yoon's failed martial law attempt and the corruption allegations against his wife.