S. Korean court issues warrant to arrest ex-President Yoon

SEOUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean court issued a warrant to arrest former President Yoon Suk-yeol to forcibly bring him in for questioning over allegations of election meddling, a special counsel team said Thursday.

The warrant, which was issued by the Seoul Central District Court, had been requested by a team of independent counsel Min Joong-ki leading an investigation into corruption allegations that involve Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee.

Yoon, who has been detained on insurrection charges following his short-lived martial law imposition last December, defied twice the special counsel's summons to appear for questioning.

An assistant special counsel and a prosecutor were forecast to be sent to the Seoul Detention Center, where Yoon has been kept in custody, according to multiple media outlets.

The ousted leader and his wife were suspected of receiving free opinion polls from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2022 presidential election in exchange for the illegal nomination of a former People Power Party lawmaker in a parliamentary by-election later that year.

Yoon was also suspected of making false statements during the 2021 presidential primaries about his wife's alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation that constitutes an election law violation. ■