Police have summoned former President Yoon Suk Yeol to appear for questioning next Thursday to shed light on allegations that he ordered the Presidential Security Service to prevent law enforcement from arresting him over martial law in January.

Police made such a request for the third time after the impeached president defied summons to appear on Thursday and an earlier summons to appear last Thursday.

The police’s special team probing the martial law incident said it sent the summons to Yoon at 6 p.m. Thursday on the assessment that Yoon must, by all means, be questioned face-to-face. 

Yoon is also suspected of giving the secret service an order on December 7, four days after he declared martial law, to delete records from secure phones used by three military commanders.

The police’s latest summons is regarded to be an ultimatum as investigators, in general, take steps to arrest a suspect if the suspect fails to appear for questioning without a just cause despite being summoned some three times.