South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol sat silently through several hours of interrogation after his dramatic arrest on Wednesday.
Mr Yoon, 64, the country’s first sitting president to be arrested, was detained to answer insurrection charges for briefly imposing martial law on 3 December.
He, however, refused to cooperate with investigators and cited health reasons for not attending further questioning, local media reported on Thursday.
Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office were expected to resume his questioning at 2pm local time but Mr Yoon’s lawyer said he could not attend.
“President Yoon is not well and fully explained his position yesterday so there is nothing more to be interrogated about,” Yoon Kab Keun told the state news agencyYonhap.
A large force of police and investigators breached Mr Yoon’s heavily guarded compound on Wednesday, bypassing bus barricades, cutting through barbed wire and scaling ladders to gain entry and arrest him.
A previous attempt to arrest him had been abandoned after police and investigators were prevented from entering the compound by the president’s security and supporters.
As the Constitutional Court considers the impeached president’s removal from office, potentially prompting a fresh election, the country is deeply divided with Mr Yoon’s opponents rejoicing and his supporters staging fervent protests.
A vehicle carrying impeached South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the Corruption Investigation Office in Gwacheon on 15 January 2025 (AFP via Getty)
According to The Chosun Daily, Mr Yoon’s interrogation centred on the circumstances of the martial law declaration, the drafting and announcement of a public address, and the deployment of military and police to the National Assembly and other locations in the country on 3 December.
Mr Yoon stayed silent and declined to answer any question. “The president did not invoke his right to remain silent,” a CIO official was quoted as saying, “he simply refused to speak.”
The CIO had prepared a 200-page questionnaire, the paper reported, but Mr Yoon’s refusal to speak cast doubts on whether the interrogators would get meaningful answers within the 48-hour detention period.
Yoon Suk Yeol sits in a car as he heads to a detention centre on 15 January 2025
Mr Yoon also reportedly did not review or sign transcripts of the interrogation, and without his signature the records cannot be used in court.
The Korea Times reported on Wednesday that Mr Yoon faced around 10 hours of questioning by multiple prosecutors from the CIO but he consistently refused to make any statement.
The president is being held at the Seoul Detention Center in Gwacheon of Gyeonggi province. His cell has basic amenities like a bed, bedding, television, and underfloor electric heating.
Mr Yoon said on Wednesday he cooperated with the investigators to prevent “bloodshed”, but he did not acknowledge the legality of the investigation.
Meanwhile, it was reported that officials were working to obtain a new warrant to extend his detention beyond the initial 48 hours.