Lawmakers from the Democratic Party, part of the special committee for a parliamentary investigation into alleged insurrection attempts by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration through emergency martial law, plan to summon President Yoon as a witness. If approved, President Yoon would be the first sitting president in South Korean history to be named a witness in a parliamentary investigation. Amid ongoing investigations and impeachment proceedings against him, the Democratic Party is stepping up pressure through the parliamentary probe.
According to political sources on the 3rd, Democratic Party members of the special committee plan to finalize their list of witnesses and references by today. They aim to discuss and approve the list in a full committee meeting on the 7th or 8th, after deliberations with the People Power Party. The Democratic Party intends to add President Yoon to the witness list and has heightened the pressure by stating they will issue an accompaniment order and file complaints if he refuses to appear. The National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act allows committees to order witnesses to be brought to designated locations if they do not attend without valid reasons.
A Democratic Party lawmaker on the special committee, in conversation with the Herald Economy, emphasized the use of all committee-granted authority to ensure President Yoon’s attendance after his selection as a witness. He mentioned that the Democratic Party has requested a full meeting on the 7th for a decision, while the People Power Party suggests the 8th, and that swift progress is expected through discussions between the parties’ floor leaders.
This is not the first attempt to name a sitting president as a witness in a parliamentary investigation. The 2016 special committee on the Choi Soon-sil scandal considered summoning President Park Geun-hye as a witness, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. The Democratic Party claims that current circumstances, initiated by President Yoon’s December 3 emergency martial law declaration, differ significantly from the past investigation into figures surrounding former President Park.
Another Democratic Party member of the special committee stated that the 2016 investigation focused on issues emerging from the periphery of President Park’s circle, fundamentally differing from the current insurrection investigation. They asserted that President Yoon, accused as the mastermind of the insurrection, should be present for the parliamentary investigation, as he is allegedly involved in giving direct orders for the insurrection, with ongoing revelations supporting this claim.