Impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol is in detention facing multiple charges, including insurrection over his failed declaration of martial law in December. Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon offers a deep dive from Seoul, examining how former South Korean presidents have a history of facing high-profile, intrusive investigations into themselves and their families that tend to result in negative outcomes, including prison terms and suicide.
“Confessions, often reached through marathon 10-plus-hour interrogation sessions at the Prosecutor’s Office, are the main piece of evidence employed in reaching a guilty verdict,” Hwang Ju-myung, a former Constitutional Court research judge, said in a 2017 article. He found that these practices resulted in a conviction rate of 99.3% from 2013 to 2017.
Mr. Yoon was reported last week to be lying on the floor of his detention cell in his undershirt and underpants to avoid being removed for questioning. Prosecutors eventually gave up, fearing the 64-year-old might be physically injured. South Korean investigators no longer deploy electric shocks or waterboarding, as they did during authoritarian rule, which ended in 1987. However, the judicial system favors prosecutors over defendants. Threat Status will be tracking how the Yoon case ultimately plays out.
