Lee Jun‑seok, leader of the minor opposition Reform Party, appeared Sunday before a special counsel team investigating allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former first lady Kim Keon‑hee interfered in candidate nominations ahead of the 2022 elections.

Lee arrived at special counsel Min Joong‑ki's office in central Seoul at about 9:48 a.m. Sunday, marking his first questioning since the team was formally launched on July 2.

The special counsel plans to question Lee about Yoon's alleged involvement in local election nominations and parliamentary by-elections in June 2022, when Lee was chair of the then‑ruling People Power Party.

Speaking to reporters before entering Min's office, Lee said most South Koreans were familiar with how Yoon treated him in 2022, arguing it was unreasonable to portray him and the former president as accomplices under those circumstances.

Asked whether improper nominations had occurred, Lee said it would have been contradictory for him, as PPP leader at the time, to intervene in the process, stressing that no such actions took place.

On allegations that Yoon interfered, Lee said he had consistently pointed to suspicious circumstances at the time and had submitted relevant materials to investigators.

Lee added, however, that determining whether any actions constituted a criminal offense was a matter for legal experts.