South Korea Special Counsel Summons Ex-PM Han as Yoon Probe Widens

South Korea’s special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk on Wednesday summoned former prime minister Han Duck-soo for questioning over allegations he abetted ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol’s 3 December martial-law attempt. Han arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office at 10 a.m. and was joined by Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun; Science and ICT Minister Yoo Sang-im is scheduled to appear at 3:30 p.m.

Investigators are probing whether the three officials knew of—or helped conceal—Yoon’s bid by endorsing a retroactive martial-law decree. Han is suspected of signing the document and later urging its destruction. The counsel is also reconstructing Cabinet meetings held before and after the failed declaration to determine whether any ministers acted as co-conspirators.

The widened inquiry follows Yoon’s refusal on 1 July to attend his own interrogation, a defiance that led Cho to issue a renewed summons for 5 July and warn that an arrest warrant could follow. Yoon was impeached in April and already faces insurrection charges in court this week, underscoring the deepening political fallout from South Korea’s first attempted imposition of martial law in decades.