Former President Yoon Suk-yeol returned home after completing his first summons investigation by the special investigation team for the rebellion around 12:59 a.m. on the 29th. He had attended the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office at 9:55 a.m. the previous day and stayed at the building for about 15 hours. However, the actual time spent by the special investigation team questioning him that day was limited to 5 hours and 5 minutes. The team plans to summon Yoon Suk-yeol again for questioning on the 30th.
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol exited through the first floor entrance of the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office around 12:59 a.m., just as he had upon his arrival. He did not respond to reporters' questions and immediately got into his vehicle and left the prosecutor's office.
Earlier, Former President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared at the ground entrance of the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office around 9:55 a.m. the previous day. The investigation took place in the special investigation room located on the sixth floor of the office. Before the formal questioning began, Yoon Suk-yeol and his attorneys met with the special investigators for 10 minutes to discuss the mode of appearance and investigation.
The special investigation team's inquiry began at 10:14 a.m. the previous day. During the approximately one-hour morning session, Police Commissioner Park Chang-hwan, who was dispatched to the rebellion special investigation team, questioned Yoon Suk-yeol about allegations of obstructing arrest and destroying evidence.
However, Yoon Suk-yeol's legal team demanded that Commissioner Park be replaced as he had been accused of illegal arrest. Afterward, when the special investigation team attempted to resume questioning at 1:30 p.m. after lunch, Yoon Suk-yeol did not respond to the inquiry. Ultimately, the morning investigation concluded without Yoon Suk-yeol signing the statement.
The special investigation resumed around 4:45 p.m., approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes after Yoon Suk-yeol refused to cooperate. The afternoon inquiry shifted focus from the previous morning's questions regarding obstructing arrest and destroying evidence, with chief prosecutors Kim Jeong-guk (35th Judicial Research and Training Institute) and Jo Jae-cheol (36th) reportedly questioning him about the alleged foreign threat that Yoon Suk-yeol incited an attack from North Korea related to the state of emergency declared on Dec. 3, as well as the situation during the cabinet meeting held just before the announcement. The investigation continued until around 7:25 p.m.
After Yoon Suk-yeol's side agreed to the late-night questioning, the investigation resumed at 8:25 p.m. following dinner. The special investigation concluded around 9:50 p.m., after approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes. This means the actual time spent on questioning totaled about 5 hours and 5 minutes.
Subsequently, Yoon Suk-yeol spent about 3 hours reviewing the statement. The review involves checking whether the questions and responses exchanged during the investigation have been accurately recorded in the statement. Yoon Suk-yeol signed the statement around 12:40 a.m. that day and coordinated the next summons schedule with the special investigation team. Following this, the team notified Yoon Suk-yeol's side of a second summons investigation scheduled for 9 a.m. on the 30th. It is reported that Yoon Suk-yeol's side did not respond immediately to this.
Meanwhile, Jo Eun-seok, the special investigator leading the rebellion investigation team, did not directly interrogate Yoon Suk-yeol during this inquiry. However, it is reported that Jo stayed at the prosecutor's office that day and was briefed on the investigation circumstances.