Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor, Yoon Suk-yeol Warrant Requested for Failure to Appear Twice...Compulsory Investigation

The special prosecutor team investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee requested an arrest warrant on the 30th for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who failed to appear for summons twice.

Oh Jeong-hee, a special prosecutor, explained the background for requesting the arrest warrant at a regular briefing on the afternoon of the 30th, stating, "The special prosecutor's team re-notified former President Yoon, who did not appear yesterday, to appear today at 10 AM, but former President Yoon, like yesterday, did not appear today without providing any reason."

The special prosecutor's team attempted their first summons investigation of former President Yoon on the 29th, but Yoon's side did not comply, citing a worsening health condition.

In response, the special prosecutor's team reiterated their notification for Yoon to appear this morning, mentioning compulsory investigation including the request for an arrest warrant, but Yoon did not show up this time either.

It is reported that the special prosecutor's team is considering a plan to execute the arrest warrant, if issued, by deploying one special prosecutor and one prosecutor to the detention center along with correctional officers.

Former President Yoon was placed under investigation by the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor in relation to allegations of political broker Myung Tae-gyun's interference in nomination.

The allegation is that during the 2022 presidential election process, in exchange for receiving free public opinion polls from "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun, efforts were made to ensure that former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun received a nomination in the by-election for the National Assembly held in the same year. Myung is understood to have conducted illegal public opinion polls a total of 81 times.

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor's office announced that the court accepted its request for a deferred trial date (to be scheduled later) for the criminal trial currently underway at the Suwon District Court concerning the alleged development favoritism in the Gongheung district, Yangpyeong, involving First Lady Kim's family. It is expected that a trial date will be set after observing further developments, given that the special prosecutor's investigation is ongoing.

Special Prosecutor Oh explained, "We requested the prosecution, which is maintaining the indictment, to defer the trial date for the submission of additional evidence and further indictments. The appellate court of the Suwon District Court, which was handling the case including the forgery of official documents, accepted this and recently deferred the trial date."

Deferral of a trial date means that when a trial date is changed, postponed, or continued, the next trial date is not set. This applies in cases where legal proceedings cannot be conducted, and it effectively means the trial is suspended. Yonhap News

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and First Lady Kim Keon-hee [Photo provided by joint press corps] 2025.7.9 [Joint Press] 2025.6.3