By Ju-min Park and Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – Arrested South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol does not intend to take part in a second day of questioning on Thursday, his lawyer said, further hampering a criminal investigation into whether he committed rebellion with his attempt to impose martial law.
Yoon, the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, was taken to a detention center in Seoul on Wednesday night after refusing to cooperate, where he was expected to spend the night in solitary confinement.
Authorities have 48 hours to question the suspended president, after which they must release him or seek a detention order of up to 20 days.
Yoon’s refusal to cooperate with investigators comes as the Constitutional Court is set to hold a second hearing in his impeachment process to determine whether to permanently depose him or restore his presidential powers.
South Korea is grappling with its worst political crisis in decades, sparked by Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3 that was rejected by parliament.
Yoon’s arrest on Wednesday ended a weeks-long standoff with authorities after police raided his fortified mansion on a hill in Seoul before dawn to the dismay of followers at the site.
Yoon said he turned himself in for questioning by corruption probe officers to prevent what he called the risk of “unsavory bloodshed,” though he continued to protest that it was an illegal investigation and an invalid arrest warrant.
Yoon has so far refused to speak to investigators who have prepared a more than 200-page questionnaire, an official from the Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO), which is leading the criminal investigation, said on Wednesday.
The affected leader did not even answer the question, said a CIO official.
His questioning is due to resume at 2pm (0500 GMT) on Thursday afternoon, according to the CIO.
But Yoon Kab-keun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, said in a text message to reporters that Yoon would not appear for questioning.
Yonhap reported that the same lawyer cited Yoon’s health as a factor and said further questioning was pointless, without elaborating.
The CIO official said he understood it was possible to forcibly detain Yoon for questioning, but would further check the relevant laws.
A small group of protesters supporting Yoon gathered and sat on the road outside the CIO’s office, calling the president’s arrest illegitimate.
His lawyers said the arrest warrant was illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate to do so.
They also asked another court to review the legality of the arrest.
His legal team strongly rejected charges against Yoon of plotting a rebellion, a crime punishable by life in prison or even the death penalty in South Korea.
Yoon’s 48-hour arrest has been temporarily suspended pending a judicial review, according to the CIO.
In addition, after parliament impeached Yoon on December 14 for his attempt to impose a state of emergency, the Constitutional Court will now decide whether to uphold the impeachment.
Opinion polls show most South Koreans support Yoon’s impeachment, but attempts to arrest him appear to have rallied his die-hard supporters.
The political crisis has reverberated through Asia’s fourth-largest economy and increased pressure on the won currency.
South Korea’s central bank unexpectedly left its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday, weighing the effect of its successive rate cuts last year, while supporting the won, which has weakened to a 15-year low against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Most analysts in a Reuters poll had expected a rate cut.
