South Korea: Special counsel summons education minister in martial law probe

Seoul, July 4 (IANS) Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk on Friday summoned Education Minister Lee Ju-ho and Park Jong-joon, former head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), in connection with his probe into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration.

Lee and Park were reportedly asked to appear at Cho's office within the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul on Friday afternoon.

Cho's office plans to question Lee about the circumstances before and after Yoon convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on the night of December 3 last year prior to the martial law imposition. Lee did not attend the Cabinet meeting because he was not given prior notice.

The special counsel's office has been calling in all of Yoon's Cabinet ministers, including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, since earlier this week for similar questioning.

The office plans to question Park as part of its investigation into allegations that Yoon ordered the PSS to block investigators from executing a warrant to detain him in early January, reports Yonhap news agency.

Earlier on Thursday, Kim Seong-hoon, former deputy chief of the PSS, appeared before a special counsel team Thursday to undergo questioning in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid.

Kim arrived at the office of special counsel Cho Eun-suk as the team looks into allegations Yoon ordered the PSS to block investigators from executing a warrant to detain him in early January.

The special counsel team has also been looking into whether Yoon ordered the PSS to delete records from secure phones used by several military commanders after his attempt to impose martial law in December failed.

Shortly afterward, Kim Ju-hyun, a former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, arrived at the special counsel's office.

He is expected to be asked about the steps leading up to the martial law declaration and its revocation, as well as the details of a separate written declaration reportedly drawn up and discarded after December 3.

The special counsel team has been summoning former Yoon administration officials in succession to establish the facts before Yoon's second round of questioning scheduled for Saturday.

--IANS

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