Yoon Suk Yeol Makes First Appearance Before Special Counsel... Suspect in 'Martial Law Justification' Directive

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[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is suspected of ordering messages justifying the Dec. 3 martial law declaration to be sent to friendly countries including the United States, appeared before Kwon Chang-young's Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team on the 6th as a suspect. 
\r\nYoon arrived at the special counsel team office in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, at around 9:50 a.m. on the day, riding a Ministry of Justice transport vehicle, and entered the interrogation room. This is the first suspect interrogation conducted by Kwon's team against Yoon. It comes 101 days after the special counsel was launched on Feb. 25.
Yoon is accused of ordering the National Security Office of the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver messages to friendly countries, including the United States, saying that the martial law declaration was justified immediately after the Dec. 3 martial law announcement.
The message reportedly included lines such as, "This measure is intended to defend liberal democracy," and "President Yoon Suk Yeol is maintaining a stance against pro-North Korea leftists and anti-Americanism."
The National Security Office, which received the order, is said to have relayed Yoon's message to the NIS the day after the martial law declaration, along with a request to "explain the background of the martial law declaration to friendly countries." The special counsel team plans to question Yoon on the intent behind drafting the martial law justification message and the circumstances under which he ordered it to be delivered.
The special counsel team had planned to make Yoon's first appearance public, but changed course to a closed-door summons after objections from Yoon's side. Yoon entered the interrogation room through an underground parking lot on the day.
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425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter