Police "Reviewing President Yoon's Request for Attendance"...a crossroads of confinement, such as George's.

■ Host: Anchor Jung Ji-woong
■ Starring: Baek Jong-gyu, Social Affairs Reporter

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN NewsNOW] when quoting.

[Anchor]
Police Chief Jo Ji-ho and Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Bong-sik are at a crossroads today. The police reiterated their willingness to investigate, saying they are also considering applying for an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, the general conductor of the emergency martial law incident. Apart from the police, the prosecution, which is investigating the emergency martial law incident, recalled Yeo In-hyeong, the commander of the Defense Security Command, and is considering requesting an arrest warrant. Let's talk with Baek Jong-kyu, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs, about the investigation of the emergency martial law incident. Welcome.

[Reporter]
Hello,

[Anchor]
The National Police Agency's special team explained the progress related to the investigation. What's the content?

[Reporter]
It was this morning. Earlier today, the National Police Agency's special investigation team announced the progress of the investigation between Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Seoul Commissioner Kim Bong-sik. Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho calls it a safe house, safe house, safe house, three hours before the emergency martial law is declared. It was confirmed that four people, including President Yoon, gathered, the police said. Then, the emergency arrest of National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho said at the National Assembly that he knew about martial law after watching TV, but he made an emergency arrest after confirming it, and he made an emergency arrest because there was a lie.

In the end, former National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho has now been arrested in terms of the possibility of destroying evidence. During the investigation, it was also confirmed that there was A4 paper handed over by President Yoon. The police have not been able to secure the A4 paper itself. So, I confirmed it through the statement of the National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, and it is revealed like this. Commissioner Cho came out of the house and said, "I tore up the A4 paper and threw it away," but the special investigation team judges that this itself is the destruction of evidence. Commissioner Cho and others say they can't remember what the A4 paper contains, but since there is no A4 paper, this is also the destruction of evidence, the police believe.

Regarding the preliminary meeting, the police said they have yet to proceed with the investigation, but they say they are analyzing only external CCTV. The police explained that if necessary, they will consider proceeding with the seizure and search. He also said that he has secured a non-consecutive phone call with President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and is investigating. The server containing related records is still in the process of checking the location, and the investigation was explained. He also confirmed that he is checking the contents of the list of people who have been arrested by President Yoon, who has been alleged so far, because only statements have been secured.

[Anchor]
I think the investigation should be conducted a little more, but the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters mentioned that along with these forced investigations, such as the re-execution of additional seizure and search by the presidential office, a direct investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol could be possible, right?

[Reporter]
The special investigation team is also revealing the direction of the investigation toward the peak of the emergency martial law crisis, that is, the civil war. In particular, the special team said it identified President Yoon Suk Yeol as a suspect when it applied for arrest warrants for Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Seoul Commissioner Kim Bong-sik. I mentioned that the investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol is still in the process of conducting a necessary investigation. We are also internally reviewing the application for an arrest warrant for the president of Yoon Suk Yeol, explaining the situation like this. I haven't asked for attendance yet, but I'm reviewing the request for attendance.

He explained that if the investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol proceeds well and is completed in a timely manner, the police will call him in person to conduct the investigation. He also confirmed that he was discussing the application for a communication warrant against President Yoon. The police are reiterating their willingness to investigate President Yoon. I also raided the presidential office, but it didn't work out properly. Regarding the additional seizure and search of the presidential office, he explained that he is reviewing whether to re-execute the warrant or apply for additional warrants.

The prosecution is also requesting cooperation from the prosecution to investigate former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has requested an arrest warrant and is now under arrest. Whether cooperation is possible, they are exchanging opinions with each other, which is the direction of the investigation. I'm explaining it like this. Also, the police have notified the members of the State Council who attended the Cabinet meeting before and after the emergency martial law. Police said four members of the State Council have been investigated so far, including Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong. In the case of the State Council member, no one has been booked as a suspect. There was also an explanation that it is still conducting a reference investigation. However, the police explain that they are considering switching to a suspect when the overall results of the investigation come out, but it is not at that stage at this time. In the police investigation, the members of the State Council said that there were procedural flaws in the overall cabinet meeting. It is said that the statements are almost identical. The police also said Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who asked to attend, and Choo Kyung-ho, former floor leader of People's Power, are also coordinating the date of the investigation.

[Anchor]
I am the chief conductor of the police organization. The police chief and the Seoul police chief. He is going to be interrogated by a suspect before his arrest. I think it's really an unprecedented situation. It's scheduled for this afternoon, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. It would be extremely unusual for two top police commanders to be subject to justice at the same time. They are accused of ordering control of the National Assembly at the time of martial law. It became an emergency arrest. Since then, police have determined that the possibility of destroying evidence is high as circumstantial evidence has been detected that the martial law plan was known in advance, so arrest is necessary. Since the establishment of the police, it is inevitably a historical event. The police emergency martial law special investigation team applied for an arrest warrant yesterday for them on charges of critical missionary work under the criminal law. And the prosecution requested a warrant last night. Today, the interrogation of the suspect before arrest and the hearing of the warrant will be held at around 3 p.m. at the Seoul Central District Court.

Commissioner Cho decided to attend the interrogation of the suspect before his arrest. Commissioner Cho is expected to talk about the fact that he has blood cancer now and insist that he be investigated without detention. And he is expected to make this argument that he did not comply with President Yoon's instructions to protect democracy.

[Anchor]
examination of the validity of a warrant We'll deliver it to you at 3 p.m. After the declaration of martial law, President Yoon personally called police chief Jo Ji-ho and made six calls. They said they gave specific instructions, but what kind of instructions did they give?

[Reporter]
That's right. This is also what the attorney of the National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho said. Cho's side stated that President Yoon personally called six times and ordered the arrest of lawmakers entering the National Assembly. Also, Yeo In-hyeong, commander of counterintelligence, instructed him to support 100 investigators. He also stated that he was asked to track the location of 15 people, including Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea. He also said that he completely controlled the National Assembly under the direction of the martial law commander at the time of Park An-soo. However, Commissioner Cho said he ordered executives to never cooperate, even though these instructions were issued. In particular, Yeo In-hyeong, commander of counterintelligence, included an incumbent judge who acquitted Lee Jae-myung of the first trial, the lawyer argued.

Until now, it has been confirmed that major politicians have been included in the list of attempted arrests by martial law forces, but this is the first time that it has been claimed that incumbent judges have been included. In the end, Commissioner Cho protested that he did not comply with President Yoon's instructions and protested against his resignation. According to President Yoon's statement yesterday, he asked the public again, "Is there a two-hour civil war or is it a riot that a small number of troops were put in to maintain order?" Commissioner Cho's statement and President Yoon's statement are now contradicting the facts.

[Anchor]
He mentioned it for a while, but there was a statement that the key figures that the martial law army said to arrest included current judges, not politicians. If this is true, did the court take a position because it seems like there will be no choice but to suspect that the judiciary tried to neutralize it?

[Reporter]
That's right. I'll tell you again, the fact that there is a judge among the 15 major arrests is what Cho's lawyer claimed. Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun was listed on the arrest list. I'm the presiding judge of the 33rd criminal agreement department of the Seoul Central District Court. He is also the presiding judge who acquitted CEO Lee of perjury on the 25th of last month. And he is also a judge in charge of the trials of Daejang-dong, Baekhyun-dong, Wirye, and Seongnam FC. When it became known that the military asked the police to track the location of Judge Kim at the time of the emergency martial law, and these statements became known, they strongly criticized it as an infringement of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction.
emphasized that it is a direct and serious violation of the jurisdiction and that there is no serious concern.

Then something that should never happen in the rule of law happened. I emphasized that we need to find out the facts quickly and follow strict legal responsibility. On the 6th, Chun Dae-yup, the head of the National Court Administration, also came out of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee and said that there was a case where former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo was included in the list of emergency martial law arrests, stressing that this is an inappropriate measure that cannot be understood. However, this is what the police said. When I received the statements from Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Seoul Commissioner Kim Bong-sik, I said that this was not included, and that this was omitted from the statement. So, these are the contents claimed by the attorney of the National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, and the attorney said that he heard this from Commissioner Cho. So the police emphasized that they would check this part as well.

[Anchor]
If an arrest warrant is issued for the head of the National Police Agency and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, won't the charges of critical civil war mission workers be applied to these two? How much can the court acknowledge that the president of Yoon Suk Yeol is the head of any civil war charges, if issued?

[Reporter]
That's right. The court will review the warrant this afternoon. If a warrant is issued after the interrogation of the suspect before arrest, the court will effectively admit that President Yoon is the head of the charge to issue it again. The reason is because the police revealed something. This is because he said he pointed out that the suspect of rebellion is President Yoon Suk Yeol. First of all, the court issued a warrant for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, stressing that the destruction of evidence and the seriousness of the issue are recognized. When requesting a warrant from the prosecution, in fact, the prosecution also pointed to President Yoon Suk Yeol as the head of the charge of rebellion, that is, a rebellion. Again, Commissioner Cho and others were accused of being an important civil war mission worker. If the court makes the same judgment, it means once again recognizing President Yoon Suk Yeol as the head of the civil war. If a warrant is issued again this time, the reason for the destruction of evidence and the seriousness of the case are expected to be recognized.

[Anchor]
Through the search and seizure of the Ministry of National Defense, the police secured a security phone, also called a non-public phone, which was used by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. There are also evaluations such as whether Pandora's box will be opened.

[Reporter]
That's right. That's what the police said at a briefing this morning. Bihwa Phone is a secure mobile phone equipped with a eavesdropping and call recording prevention program. President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun are known to have ordered on-site commanders several times through non-propaganda phones while enforcing martial law. Also, as I said just a moment ago, it is known that the police chief, Jo Ji-ho, also made a phone call on this non-phone. The details of the use of this non-Phone are considered a decisive clue to the investigation of the situation.

The special investigation team also seized and searched the Capital Defense Command and secured the server data of the non-new phone. The search was conducted to determine the communication records of President Yoon and former Minister Kim. In addition, the data was handed over by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a voluntary submission of martial law command data, and CCTV footage of the command and control room in the basement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was also secured. President Yoon visited the command and control room just after 1 a.m. on the 4th, when the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law, and held a meeting with military officials.

[Anchor]
And the prosecution seems to be speeding up its investigation. We've investigated Yeo In-hyeong, commander of the Defense Security Command twice, and looking at the situation so far, can we say that there is a high possibility of requesting an arrest warrant?

[Reporter]
That's right. The commander of the Women's Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command is also considered a key figure in this incident. Yesterday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a statement that he ordered the Minister of National Defense to check the computer system of the NEC at the time of the declaration of martial law. It has been confirmed and interpreted to mean that martial law forces have been put into the NEC to confirm the authenticity of the election fraud theory. The prosecution conducted two investigations on Yeo In-hyeong, the commander, to see if Kim Yong-hyun, the former defense minister, instructed him to secure the NEC's computer room server. We are also checking whether we have received direct instructions from the President of Yoon Suk Yeol.

The special prosecution is also investigating whether counterintelligence agents attempted to arrest key political figures. Immediately after the lifting of the emergency martial law, there was an arrest list, including politicians, and we have secured a statement that it was discarded and are investigating. In addition, we are also investigating the allegation, believing that counterintelligence agents were involved in the preparation of a decree containing unconstitutional content. Prosecutors believe that Commander Yeo plotted emergency martial law with President Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun in advance, and are also investigating the purpose of sending agents to the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission.

[Anchor]
If you look at the direction of the investigation by the police and the prosecution, they finally declared this emergency martial law and commanded the command. He's heading to the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. Earlier, I told you that the prosecution is also considering an arrest warrant. The possibility of a direct investigation into President Yoon soon is also being discussed, right?

[Reporter]
There are a lot of urgent details such as emergency arrest and arrest warrant. Director of Airborne Oh Dong-hoon talked about the emergency arrest. The police talked about applying for an arrest warrant this time. The police are internally reviewing the application for an arrest warrant, and the disclosure seems to have repeatedly emphasized the will to investigate President Yoon rather than revealing what will happen right away. The prevailing opinion is that not only the police but also the prosecution and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are inevitable to directly investigate President Yoon. In a situation where the investigation is competitive, each agency seems to think this is very important, who will investigate the president first.

However, there are many opinions in the legal community that it is practically difficult to arrest and execute arrest warrants. In order to arrest the president, the president has to come out in person or go into the presidential office, but when I looked at the situation of the presidential office's seizure and search earlier, there was a conflict with the security service. Because of this, if you try to make an emergency arrest, there will definitely be a physical conflict with the security service. And under the current law, the president is subject to security for five years even if he leaves office before the end of his term, unless he goes against his will.

Therefore, it seems that it will not be easy to execute an emergency arrest or arrest warrant. However, there are many views that there is a possibility of arrest through a warrant request. If President Yoon is found to have commanded the emergency martial law incident, there is a possibility of issuing an arrest warrant in view of the seriousness of the case. As the incumbent president, there will be no fear of running away, but it seems to be because of the high concern for those who are evidence and the seriousness of the issue.

[Anchor]
A day before the re-decision of the president's impeachment, we looked into the investigation of the prosecution and the police. So far, we've been with Baek Jong-gyu, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thank you.