South Korean President Yoon Refuses To Be Examined On Day Two Of Detention

JAKARTA - The arrested South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, did not attend the second day of examination.

Yoon remained at the detention center on Thursday, January 16. Lawyers called his client's health one of the factors that did not fulfill the examination.

Authorities have 48 hours to examine the president who was suspended from office after being impeached by parliament. After that, investigators must release him or request a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days.

Reported by Reuters, Yoon's refusal to cooperate with investigators came when the Constitutional Court held a second hearing in its impeachment hearing to determine whether to permanently fire him or return his president's power.

South Korea is grappling with its worst political crisis in decades, sparked by Yoon's brief attempt to impose a military emergency on December 3 rejected by parliament.

In the opening argument at the Constitutional Court, a Democratic lawmaker criticized Yoon for "insurgency December 3". The member said Yoon and a small number of his supporters tried to spark chaos by refusing to receive an arrest warrant.

"This impeachment trial decides whether people like this will return to the position of supreme commander in charge of the military or not," said Jung Chung-rae, who leads the Legislation and Justice Committee of parliament.

In response, one of Yoon's defense teams said his impeachment was not meant to defend the constitution but to "use the majority of parliament to seize the presidency".

The main opposition party, the Democratic Party, uses its majority in parliament to impeach Yoon, although some 12 lawmakers from the party that support Yoon also voted for impeachment.