Special counsel fast-tracks Yoon insurrection probe

The special counsel team investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection — led by Cho Eun-suk — has launched its probe ahead of schedule, outpacing two other independent counsel teams.
Cho was granted a 20-day preparation period until June 30 to appoint assistant prosecutors, assemble a team of temporarily assigned prosecutors, government officials and investigators, and set up an office.
The faster launch puts Cho's team ahead of the two other special counsel probes — one investigating allegations against former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and the other looking into Yoon's alleged interference in the investigation of a Marine's death.
As of Sunday, both of the other teams were still in the final stages of transferring cases and forming teams.
According to Cho, some assistant special prosecutors will begin work by attending Yoon's eighth criminal trial hearing Monday morning.
Cho launched the investigation just six days after being appointed special prosecutor on June 18.
This marked the first of the three special prosecutor probes to begin investigating allegations against Yoon and his wife, as well as the death of a Marine during his administration.
The special counsel probe team indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on additional charges of obstruction of public duties and subornation of evidence destruction, and requested a new arrest warrant ahead of his scheduled release.
Kim, who has been detained since December last year, was expected to be freed after his six-month detention period on June 26.
The former defense minister asked the court to suspend the execution of his indictment, insisting that the indictment was not within the scope of the special counsel's duties.
But the Seoul High Court dismissed Kim's request on Sunday.
The special counsel team is set to investigate Yoon's insurrection case with some 200 investigative personnel within 170 days, which is expected to continue until the end of the year.
The special prosecutor is also reportedly considering seeking another arrest warrant for former president Yoon, who was released on March 9 after 52 days in detention, in connection with additional criminal charges.
Police had previously issued three consecutive summonses for Yoon to appear for questioning over allegations related to his attempted imposition of martial law. His repeated refusals to appear prompted investigators to consider requesting an arrest warrant to take him into custody.
South Korean police typically pursue an arrest warrant to compel a suspect to appear for an in-person investigation once three consecutive summons have gone unheeded.
However, since the police recently had to transfer the case to the independent special counsel, Cho has assumed decision-making authority over the matter.
Though the special counsel is yet to decide whether to request an arrest warrant, the National Office of Investigation, under the National Police Agency, reportedly said that Cho and the police will reach a conclusion by the end of this week.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Korea Herald

8 hours ago

• Korea Herald

Lee discusses stimulus, diplomacy with bipartisan delegation

Lee hosts ruling and opposition party leadership for lunch, just 18 days into presidency President Lee Jae Myung held a lunch meeting with a bipartisan delegation Sunday at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to discuss the government's recent stimulus proposal and his visit to Canada to attend the G7 summit last week. There, Lee stressed a need to narrow down differences between rival parties. "Many world leaders (I met during the G7 summit) had a significant amount of interest in South Korea's present and future, so I thought we could conciliate with each other over the external issues," Lee said. "I thought we should review the economic situation of South Korea and the issues of national security and diplomacy that lay the foundation for South Korea's economy. Especially, we should work on the extra budget bill, and it is natural to have different opinions," he continued. Bowls of colorful noodles were served at lunch, according to the presidential office. The meeting marked the start of "candid conversation" between the president and leaders of rival parties, Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said in a briefing on Sunday Present at the meeting were Rep. Kim Byung-kee, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea; Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party and People Power Party Whip Rep. Song Eon-seog. The ruling party chair position has yet to be filled. The primary focus of the meeting was the 30.5 trillion won ($22.2 billion) supplementary budget that is set to be tabled at the National Assembly on Monday. Among the extra budget is a 15.2 trillion-won stimulus plan, largely designed to shore up consumption by doling out 13 trillion won worth of cash-equivalent coupons to all South Korean citizens. Each individual will receive coupons worth at least 150,000 won. Additionally, 5 trillion won was allocated in the supplementary budget for small businesses and economically marginalized groups. The plan includes a 1.4 trillion won scheme to write off debts of small business owners -- up to 50 million won per individual -- that have been overdue for seven years or more. The liberal government's budget proposal gained Cabinet approval Thursday. At the meeting, People Power Party's interim leader Kim told Lee that he was wary of expansionary fiscal policy because it could lead to inflation. Kim also said Lee's debt write-off plan could prompt people's unwillingness to resolve delinquency. The ruling liberal party has the legislative power to single-handedly pass the budget bill, as it requires at least half of the votes by National Assembly lawmakers present at the session. The parliament is currently led by the ruling Democratic Party, which occupies 167 seats out of the 298. The conservative main opposition People Power Party holds 107 seats. Just before Sunday's lunch meeting, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Rep. Kim Hyun-jung claimed that a plenary session to pass the extra budget bill must take place before July 4, regardless of whether the People Power Party consents. Also during the meeting, Lee shared with the political leaders about his debut on the international stage as a guest at the Group of Seven summit, according to the presidential office. Chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, on Tuesday, had extended a general invitation to the opposition party leaders while Lee was in Canada for the G7 summit. On Thursday, Lee told Kang that the meeting with bipartisan leadership should take place early, and the date was set for Sunday. This stands in contrast with Lee's conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who first met the then-opposition leader Lee about two years into his presidency in April 2024, only after the then-ruling People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the general election.

Korea Herald

8 hours ago

• Korea Herald

[Breaking] Lee to skip meetings with NATO leaders in Netherlands

President Lee Jae Myung will skip his meeting with leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization later this week in The Hague, Netherlands, said Wi Sung-lac, director of national security at the presidential office, in a note to reporters on Sunday. The upcoming summit, scheduled to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, would have been the fourth consecutive NATO event at which a South Korean leader has appeared. Lee's disgraced conservative predecessor, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, did not miss any of the NATO summits held during his presidency from May 2022 to April this year. South Korea is not a member of NATO, but over the past few years, the alliance has regarded South Korea as one of its like-minded Indo-Pacific partners — the so-called "IP4," along with Japan, Australia and New Zealand — that contribute to cooperative security and deterrence.

Korea Herald

11 hours ago

• Korea Herald

Lee discusses stimulus, diplomacy with bipartisan delegations

Lee hosts ruling and opposition party leadership for lunch, just 18 days into presidency President Lee Jae Myung held a lunch meeting with bipartisan delegations Sunday at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to discuss the government's recent stimulus proposal and his recent visit to Canada to attend the Group of Seven summit. There, Lee stressed a need to narrow down differences between rival parties. "Many world leaders (I met during the G7 summit) had a significant amount of interest in South Korea's present and future, so I thought we could conciliate with each other over the external issues," Lee said. "I thought we should review the economic situation of South Korea and the issues of national security and diplomacy that lay the foundation for South Korea's economy. Especially, we should work on the extra budget bill, and it is natural to see different opinions," he continued. Bowls of colorful noodles were served at lunch, according to the presidential office. The meeting marked a significant "candid conversation" between the president and leaders of rival parties, Woo said Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, in a briefing on Sunday Present at the meeting were Rep. Kim Byung-kee, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea; Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party, and its whip Rep. Song Eon-seog. The ruling party chair position has yet to be filled. The primary focus of the meeting was the 30.5 trillion won ($22.2 billion) supplementary budget that is set to be tabled at the National Assembly on Monday. Among the extra budget is a 15.2 trillion-won stimulus plan, largely designed to dole out 13 trillion won worth of cash-equivalent coupons universally to all South Korean citizens— at least 150,000 won per individual — to shore up consumption. Additionally, a separate 5 trillion won was allocated in the supplementary budget for small businesses and economically marginalized groups. The plan includes a 1.4 trillion won scheme to write off debts of small business owners up to 50 million won per individual that has been overdue for seven years or more. The liberal government's budget proposal gained Cabinet approval Thursday. At the meeting, People Power Party's interim leader Kim told Lee that he was wary of expansionary fiscal policy because it could lead to inflation. Kim also said Lee's debt write-off plan could prompt people's unwillingness to resolve delinquency. The ruling liberal party has the legislative power to single-handedly pass the budget bill, as it requires at least half of the votes by National Assembly lawmakers present at the session. The parliament is currently led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which occupies 167 seats out of the 298. The conservative main opposition People Power Party holds 107 seats. Just before Sunday's lunch meeting, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Rep. Kim Hyun-jung claimed that a plenary session to pass the extra budget bill must take place before July 4, regardless of whether the People Power Party consents. Also during the meeting, Lee shared with the political leaders about his debut on the international stage as a guest at the Group of Seven summit, according to the presidential office. Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, on Tuesday, had extended a general invitation to the opposition party leaders while Lee was in Canada for the G7 summit. On Thursday, Lee told Kang that the meeting with bipartisan leadership should take place early, and the date was set for Sunday. This stands in contrast with Lee's conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who first met the then-opposition leader Lee about two years into his presidency in April 2024, only after the then-ruling People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the general election.