Will South Korea's Assembly Speaker Face Questions in Martial Law Investigation?

Seoul, Aug 5 (NationPress) Woo Won-shik, the Speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, is set to meet with Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk at 10 a.m. on Thursday to provide testimony regarding the controversial martial law declaration by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, as announced by the prosecutorial team on Tuesday.

The special counsel has requested Woo's cooperation as he is viewed as both a victim and the leader of the body that abolished the unlawful martial law, and he has consented to appear in person this Thursday, according to the team.

Woo is anticipated to be queried about whether the conservative People Power Party (PPP) systematically hindered the National Assembly's voting process during the repeal of the martial law.

Following Yoon's imposition of martial law on the night of December 3 last year, the 300-member National Assembly voted in the early hours of December 4 to demand the lifting of the martial law. All 190 lawmakers present supported the resolution. According to the Constitution, martial law must be rescinded when a parliamentary majority calls for it, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

Woo chaired the special parliamentary session on December 4, overseeing the Assembly for approximately 155 minutes until the resolution was successfully passed.

The special counsel team suspects that the PPP leadership may have altered meeting locations for party lawmakers multiple times to obstruct their participation in the Assembly vote during that period, allegedly under Yoon's instructions.

The team has also summoned PPP lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae to appear at its office next Monday for questioning as a witness.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's special counsel team announced it has no plans to make a second attempt to detain jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol until Wednesday.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which is examining various corruption allegations involving Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, stated that this decision follows Yoon's appointment of legal counsel.

"We intend to discuss the schedule and method of questioning with the lawyer, hence we do not plan to execute the detention warrant today or tomorrow," the team expressed in a press notice on Tuesday.

The former president has reportedly chosen Bae Bo-yoon, a former spokesperson for the Constitutional Court, as his legal representative.

Min's team aims to bring Yoon in for questioning regarding allegations that he and his wife interfered in candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

Yoon, currently in custody for his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, declined two summonses last week and refused to comply with the team's execution of a detention warrant on Friday.

The warrant expires on Thursday, but the team has indicated they will seek a new warrant if necessary.

Yoon's wife has been called to appear for questioning on Wednesday.