The National Assembly’s special committee in charge of investigating insurrection allegations against members of the Yoon Suk Yeol government visited the Seoul Eastern Detention Center on Wednesday to question former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, but the ex-minister refused.

The committee’s secretary, Democratic Party lawmaker Han Byung-do, told reporters at the detention center that the former defense chief did not appear for questioning.

In refusing to be questioned, Kim reportedly cited the need to prepare for his trial and meet with his lawyer.

As a protest, the ruling party did not participate in the attempted questioning.

The committee now plans to head to the Seoul Detention Center and the Capital Defense Command’s pretrial detention facility to question other key witnesses, including President Yoon and former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung.