A special counsel team made a second attempt Thursday to execute a warrant to interrogate jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol over allegations of election meddling.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team arrived at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, to execute the warrant for Yoon, who has been held there in custody since July 10 on charges related to his failed attempt to impose martial law in December.
A first attempt to bring him in for questioning last Friday failed after the former president resisted by lying on the floor of his prison cell wearing only his underwear, according to the team.
The investigators have said they will use physical force if necessary to complete the execution during the second attempt.
Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, face allegations 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.
The former first lady underwent nearly 11 hours of questioning at Min's office Wednesday after being summoned to respond to a host of allegations against her, including election meddling, bribery and stock manipulation.
Kim became the first spouse of a former or sitting president to publicly appear as a suspect in a criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, this is the second detention warrant issued for Yoon.
In January, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials apprehended Yoon at the official presidential residence under a court-issued warrant and took him to the same detention center where he was held until his surprise release in March.
At the time, he was detained on charges of leading an insurrection through his martial law attempt.
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho instructed Seoul Detention Center on Wednesday to "actively cooperate" with the special counsel team's warrant execution.
The team has separately called on the former president to comply with the execution of the law.
During a press briefing Monday, it referred to an incident in 2017 when Yoon, as a prosecutor and head of a special counsel investigation team, forcibly brought in Choi Soon-sil, a friend of then President Park Geun-hye, to question her over corruption allegations involving both people.
"We well know how former President Yoon investigated and are simply trying to apply the same methods," assistant special counsel Moon Hong-ju said at the briefing. (Yonhap)
