South Korean President fails to appear before CIO for questioning over martial law

Seoul: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to appear before the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) for High-ranking Officials on Wednesday, defying a summons for questioning over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

Yoon had been asked by a joint investigation team made up of the CIO, the police and the Defence ministry's investigation unit to appear at the CIO's office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon faces charges of inciting an insurrection through his declaration of martial law on December 3 and has been suspended from duty pending the Constitutional Court's trial on his impeachment by the National Assembly.

Multiple attempts to deliver the summons to Yoon failed earlier this week after the presidential office refused to accept it and sent the mail back.

CIO chief Oh Dong-woon told the National Assembly's legislation committee Tuesday that the summons was being declined "deliberately" and that his agency would swiftly take "lawful" steps in response.

Oh said the CIO was reviewing whether the criteria were met to seek an arrest warrant against Yoon based on its conclusion that doing so was "most in line with lawful procedures," rather than attempting an emergency arrest without a warrant.

The CIO is also considering whether to issue a second summons.

The prosecution, which is conducting a parallel investigation into the martial law case, has separately asked Yoon to appear for questioning on Saturday after he defied an earlier summons on Sunday.