Postponed President Yoon's Direct Investigation?... "I Do Not Agree to Insurrection"

■ Host: Anchor Jeong Jin-hyung and anchor Lee Eun-sol
■ 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 New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
Conservative groups held rallies against the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol in various parts of Seoul. Conservative anti-impeachment groups, including the Korea National Movement Headquarters, held a National Congress to nullify the impeachment of the president of Yoon Suk Yeol at 1 p.m. today (17th) at the Constitutional Court and nearby, claiming that declaring martial law was a legitimate act. He also held rallies in front of the Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Gwanghwamun and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from 2 p.m., raising his voice that the impeachment motion was invalid. Investigation on the emergency martial law situation From now on, we will talk more with Baek Jong-kyu, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Hello. First, let's look at the prosecution's investigation. The prosecution has notified President Yoon twice of the summons, but he has not responded. Please summarize the related news.

[Reporter]
The prosecution investigating the emergency martial law incident has notified President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is at the peak of the civil war, again to attend and be investigated. The prosecution sent a request for attendance to be summoned by the 21st. If it's the 21st, it's this Saturday. It is unclear whether President Yoon Suk Yeol will actually respond to the second summons. Earlier on the 11th, the prosecution demanded that he appear in the morning of the 15th as a suspect on charges of civil war under the criminal law and obstruction of the exercise of rights to abuse his authority. The prosecution sent an official letter to President Yoon, but he did not attend. In the first round, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that he did not comply with the formation of the defense team because it was not completed, but this time, he said that it is difficult to say whether he will attend the prosecution's summons this week in connection with the second summons notice. It is a simultaneous subpoena of the prosecution and the collaboration, so we will make a position after review. That's what I said. He also expressed his position that this needs some adjustment due to the overlapping confusion of President Yoon's investigative agencies.

[Anchor]
It is difficult to tell you whether you will attend this week. What can the prosecution do if President Yoon does not accept the prosecution's request to attend?

[Reporter] If President
Yoon does not respond to the second request for attendance, we will review whether it is necessary to secure forced recruits such as arrest warrants. In the case of the prosecution, if it is judged that there is no legitimate reason for not appearing, it is possible to obtain an arrest warrant from the court and secure a forced recruit. However, since Yoon Suk Yeol is a sitting president, he will be guarded by the presidential security service. For this reason, there is a possibility of physical conflict with the security service during the execution of the arrest warrant. Earlier on the 11th, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency raided the presidential office and confronted it for more than six hours. And they were not allowed to enter the precinct until the end. I heard it based on the Criminal Procedure Act, which restricts the seizure and search of secret places for official purposes. Instead of search and seizure, he said he would cooperate by voluntary submission. The prosecution believes that there is no legal basis for refusing to execute an arrest warrant to secure a presidential recruit.

[Anchor]
You have organized the investigative agency's attendance notification so far, but I heard that President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers have also expressed their position in this regard, so please also tell me about this.

[Reporter]
President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers have not yet completely completed the composition. However, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who is involved in the formation of the lawyers, briefed today. The lawyers expressed their position that President Yoon Suk Yeol would confidently express his position in court. This means that President Yoon Suk Yeol will come out and make his position known if the public hearing is held while the Constitutional Court's impeachment proceedings have begun. Then, he said that President Yoon Suk Yeol did not worry about the crime of rebellion legally, but in reality, he said he would respond to the investigation. Now, the lawyers have also said they will respond in three branches. He said he would respond in three parts: investigation response, impeachment trial, and trial response. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun said this. This emergency martial law incident is not a requirement for the establishment of rebellion. And there was no rebellion to usurp the regime, and there was no element of rioting. Former Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Hong-il and lawyer Yoon Gap-geun will also join President Yoon's lawyers. There are many people who have decided to help the president now, and among them, they said they are coordinating. He said he would also announce his refined position within a few days with the president's consent.

[Anchor]
Although it is being coordinated, the lawyers known so far seem to be participating in Seok Dong-hyun, Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, and Yoon Gap-geun, all of whom are close to President Yoon.

[Reporter]
That's right. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who briefed just a moment ago, is considered a close aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol. It is known that he has been with President Yoon Suk Yeol for 40 years. Lawyer Seok is known to be a college colleague with President Yoon as a law student at Seoul National University. In 2012, he left the prosecution after serving as the head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office. In the last presidential election, he also served as the special assistant leader of the Yoon Suk Yeol camp. And he's in office. He served as the secretary general of the 2022 Advisory Committee for Democratic Peace and Unification. Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is a senior prosecutor of President Yoon. He served as the third deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the head of the Busan High Prosecutor's Office. It is known as a special barrel. During the last presidential election, President Yoon Suk Yeol served as the chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission after taking office as the special chairman of the Yoon Suk Yeol's political work. Lawyer Yoon Gap-geun and lawyer Yoon Gap-geun, known as Strong Special Pain, are also from the Daegu High Prosecutor's Office. When President Yoon was demoted to the Daegu High Prosecutor's Office, he worked together and had a relationship.

[Anchor]
Earlier, reporter Baek summarized the prosecution's two summons notifications, and the Joint Investigation Headquarters also notified President Yoon Suk Yeol of his attendance. However, there seems to be interest in which of the two organizations President Yoon will be investigated.

[Reporter]
That's right. President Yoon's side will now be considering which agency will come forward, saying that investigative agencies will investigate repeatedly. The Joint Investigation Headquarters notified President Yoon through the mail that he should be investigated as a suspect. The Government Offices has notified President Yoon to attend at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Gwacheon Government Complex. It is said that Gongjo-bon sent a request for attendance through a special registration through the post office. However, President Yoon refused to receive it, so it was returned and not delivered. The request for attendance sent to the presidential residence was confirmed to have been returned as a refusal to receive it, but it is unknown who refused to receive the mail, the official said. The Government-General of Korea tried to deliver a request for attendance to the President's Office and the residence yesterday, but failed. The police claim that once the attendance request arrives, it is right to believe that the person recognized it regardless of whether it is a figure or not. Therefore, the co-operation agency said that President Yoon Suk Yeol did not comply with the first request for attendance. President Yoon Suk Yeol's side will not attend tomorrow on whether he will attend the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit on the 18th. I also expressed this position. Attention is focusing on which investigative agency President Yoon will choose and which agency he will be investigated by, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will quickly take legal steps regarding President Yoon Suk Yeol's refusal to receive a request for attendance. In addition, Director of Airborne Oh Dong-hoon said that the arrest warrant and arrest warrant cannot interfere with the execution of the warrant for reasons such as official secrets. There has been a deliberate refusal to receive attendance requests, which I think is a reason for the concern of not responding to the request for attendance.

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol May Have One More Reason To Be Dismissed If He Continues To Refuse To Attendance Request There's also an analysis like this.

[Reporter]
You can see this compared to former President Park Geun Hye. First of all, former President Park Geun Hye did not cooperate with the prosecution, the special investigation, and the special prosecution, contrary to his initial promise. The Constitutional Court wrote this in the impeachment trial decision. He made an inauthentic apology to the people and did not keep his promise to the people. Looking at these words and actions, it is judged that the respondent's will to protect the constitution is not clearly revealed. I put it in like this. President Yoon Suk Yeol also said he would not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law. However, some point out that if President Yoon does not cooperate with the investigation, he will behave the same way as former President Park, so the reason for the dismissal will be added one more time.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, wasn't Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo, who was appointed as martial law commander at the time of the emergency martial law on the 3rd, arrested today? As the military court arrested him, it was reported that President Park was afraid of running away.

[Reporter]
That's right. The emergency martial law special investigation headquarters announced today that it has issued an arrest warrant for President Park An-soo, who is accused of engaging in important missions and abusing his authority. The military court also judged that President Park could run away. President Park, who was appointed as martial law commander immediately after the emergency martial law incident. In addition, decree No. 1, which prohibits all political activities, was also announced in the name of President Park. He also instructed National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho to control the National Assembly. After the request for the lifting of martial law was passed by the National Assembly, it was also detected that the meeting was held with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. President Park An-soo found out about the declaration of martial law after watching the president's statement, and after watching TV. He claimed that he did not write the decree himself, but President Park gave up the examination ahead of the interrogation of the suspect before his arrest at the military court. The prosecution was arrested for the fifth time after the arrested suspects, Kim Yong-hyun, Yeo In-hyeong, Kwak Jong-geun, and Lee Jin-woo. The prosecution also extended the arrest deadline for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is refusing to state. It was scheduled to expire today, but the arrest deadline has been extended to the 28th.

[Anchor]
The situation in which all the key figures in the martial law military are being secured. Apart from the prosecution, the police are also speeding up their investigation. I also tried to search and seizure of the presidential office's security office, so please tell me about it.

[Reporter]
It's this morning. The Joint Investigation Headquarters waited to search and confiscate the server stored in the presidential office's security office. However, after a confrontation of about seven hours, it was withdrawn. The special investigation team said in a press release that the security service would inform us tomorrow after reviewing whether to cooperate with the search and seizure. That's what I said. The purpose of the police's search and seizure of the security office is the security phone of National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho. So, it's to check the communication records of the non-Phone. That's why I got a separate warrant and tried to execute it. What's this secret phone? There are eavesdropping and call recording prevention programs installed, so you need to secure a server to check the call history. Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, who was arrested, said that he spoke to President Yoon Suk Yeol six times on the phone during martial law. At this time, President Yoon ordered the lawmakers to be arrested, but since there is no call history left, we are securing this server to see if they gave this order. But you said you had a confrontation with the security service again today. So it still remains to be seen whether the police will be able to secure this content.

[Anchor]
As the investigation continues, hidden facts are being revealed one by one. One of them was that three hours before martial law, President Yoon Suk Yeol called the police chief Jo Ji-ho and the Seoul police chief Kim Bong-sik to have a meeting. Isn't this revealed? That's why I think we need a search and seizure of the safe house, but the police tried to search and seizure, but this was rejected again?

[Reporter]
What's safe is that it's a safe house. It's a safe house in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. The police applied for a search warrant for the president's safe house, but the court rejected it. The reason why the court rejected it was that the need for seizure and search was not recognized. In fact, the exact location of the safe house has not been disclosed. I think these reasons are also included. It is known that he had a safe meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol and National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho before martial law. a governing body at the back of the house So, it is said that he gave a sheet of A4 paper to the commissioners for command of the control agency, including the media. But Commissioner Cho said he received this A4 paper, but ripped it. The head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government also says he doesn't have it now. The police requested an arrest warrant for Cho and Kim Bong-sik, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, based on the circumstances of the destruction of evidence. Therefore, because there is a question of whether A4 paper can be secured in this safe house, we tried to search and seizure through this part, but the court rejected the warrant.

[Anchor]
In addition, the police applied for an arrest warrant for Roh Sang-won, the former intelligence commander suspected of planning martial law, what is this about?

[Reporter]
The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters Special Investigation Team has requested an arrest warrant for former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won on charges of rebellion and other charges. A person named Roh Sang-won, I'm not currently working. I'm a civilian. He served as the intelligence commander during the Park Geun Hye government. He is suspected of planning the emergency martial law by helping former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to write a decree. The special investigation team confirmed that former commander Roh discussed martial law in advance with Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Moon Sang-ho's intelligence commander. Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea also disclosed the circumstances in which former commander Roh met with Minister Kim Yong-hyun or talked on the phone before and after the day of martial law. It is also known that he met with Moon Sang-ho, the current intelligence commander, and two intelligence officers on the 1st, two days before martial law. There is also a situation in which they instructed them to secure a server for the Central Election Commission in relation to the fraudulent election. Police believe that former commander Roh planned martial law in advance at a hamburger store in Ansan on the 1st with officials such as the Defense Minister's intelligence commander. Police are also said to have secured CCTV footage of them talking while eating hamburgers. This came to light when an intelligence colonel who attended the meeting reportedly stated the specific situation at the time of the meeting in a police investigation.

[Anchor]
Isn't it a situation where the impeachment bill was passed by the National Assembly and the ball was handed over to the Constitutional Court? In line with that, the Constitutional Court has begun a full-fledged preparation process. But I heard that President Yoon is not receiving the National Assembly's impeachment resolution sent by the Constitutional Court?

[Reporter]
That's right. I haven't received it since yesterday on the 16th. The Constitutional Court is saying this. So the Constitutional Public Information Officer used this expression, "It's serving the president." Yesterday morning, the Constitutional Court sent documents including the National Assembly's impeachment resolution, asking President Yoon to submit a response within seven days from the date of delivery. The Constitutional Court tried to deliver it in three ways: through human beings, through daily express mail, and electronic document systems. However, as the delivery has been delayed, the deadline for submitting an answer is also being delayed. The Constitutional Court said it delivered the resolution to the presidential secretary's office by person. He said he didn't officially receive the receipt. Daily express mail and electronic documents have also been sent, but it is said that the delivery confirmation has not been completed. If the documents are not delivered, this itself is delayed because the follow-up procedure cannot be carried out. President Yoon did not receive the documents even if he did not attend or attend the preparatory process scheduled for the 27th. I think they will express this opinion. President Yoon's side has not yet submitted the appointment of an agent to the Constitutional Court. Some point out that they are actually implementing a delay strategy.

[Anchor]
Let's stop here. I talked to Baek Jong-kyu, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thank you.