Seoul: Former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear for police questioning Thursday morning over charges related to his botched martial law bid, officials said, ignoring their summons for the second time. Yoon has been asked to appear as a suspect on charges of ordering the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to block the execution of a detention warrant against him in early January. He has also been booked on charges of ordering the PSS to delete records from secure phones used by three military commanders shortly after his attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3 failed.

According to Yonhap News Agency, there was no contact from Yoon as of 10 a.m., and police officials stated they would wait for his appearance until the end of working hours. Yoon had previously defied a summons to appear for questioning on June 5. On Wednesday, Yoon's lawyer, Yun Gap-geun, submitted an opinion indicating that Yoon would not appear for questioning, arguing that the summons lacked legal basis. Police are now considering whether to issue another summons for Yoon's appearance by examining the investigation's findings and the document submitted by his lawyer.