[News Now] Prosecutors transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit for President Yoon's case.What's the future investigation?

■ Host: Kim Sun-young Anchor, Lee Jung-seop Anchor
■ Starring: Lawyer Lim Joo-hye

* 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]
The Constitutional Court has asked President Yoon Suk Yeol to submit the minutes of the Cabinet meeting at the time of the emergency martial law. President Yoon did not respond to the attendance of the Joint Investigation Headquarters today and mentioned the possibility of a direct argument in the impeachment trial. Let's talk with lawyer Lim Joo-hye about the related content. Please come in.

Constitutional time has just begun. There was a constitutional briefing today. Let's hear what came out first. Now, the Constitutional Court has begun a full-fledged preparation process, and I made this request to submit the minutes of the Cabinet meeting before today's start. What's the reason for this?

[Lim Joo-hye]
The hearing preparation date is scheduled to be held on the 27th. The chief judge and the life judge have already been decided, and what Judge Lee Mi-sun and Judge Jeong Hyeong-sik do is to issue orders for the procedures necessary for the preparation period for the defense. That's why this preparation order was issued today. a verification plan at a large scale Submit the proof plan for how you will make your case at the trial in the future. And organize the parts such as the list of evidence to be submitted. And as you said, the standout point should submit the minutes of the Cabinet meeting and issue a martial law declaration. We've issued these preparation orders.

I believe that to submit the documents and plans by the 24th before the hearing preparation date is an order to submit the materials that the court thought were necessary to draw the overall process of the hearing more solidly. But the problem is that it is unclear to serve it now. The documents sent yesterday have not yet been served by the president, so they are not receiving them.

[Anchor]
If I get it, will I sign it? I received it. If you receive

[Lim Joo-hye]
through the post office, you will receive it as it is, and the post office will sign it and prove that it has reached it, but the receipt is now being denied. It's like no one is answering. Since it is difficult to say that these orders have been reached normally now, we know everything from the media, but by law, we have to receive this order directly to receive it. This order has been issued, but it is still undecided whether we will actually submit it or whether it will be able to open properly.

[Anchor]
If I continue to refuse to receive it, will the impeachment proceedings themselves not be initiated and will the proceedings be delayed?

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, it's very important that documents are reached in the case of an impeachment trial, just like the criminal trial. Otherwise, the deadline can be delayed, but of course, we can't just refuse to receive it. Therefore, how to deal with this part when it is not served may also depend on the judges' judgment now, so this part is expected to be discussed together in the future.

If this continues to be rejected, there is a need for this procedure to be initiated one day, so judges will decide on other measures such as considering it as received after seven days of notification like a civil suit.

[Anchor]
It is known that President Yoon asked for a live broadcast because he said he would come out and express his position. I made the decision to disclose this content but not to broadcast it live, so how should I look at the background?

[Lim Joo-hye]
If you say it's being broadcast live now, it's being transmitted in real time in this court where the trial is taking place. There are concerns or safety reasons in the courtroom. However, as soon as the defense is over, the recording will be released through the media and posted on the website, so it will not be broadcast live, but I will disclose all the situations of this defense. [Anchor] You can't watch it in real time, but you're going to release all the videos.

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. He announced that he would release this part right after the defense was over. In the previous cases of former President Park Geun Hye and former President Roh Moo Hyun, the process of making the sentence was recorded like this, but the day of the sentence was also broadcast live. Therefore, even in the case of the impeachment trial and the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the defense said it would release the recording, but the possibility of live broadcasting the sentence of whether or not the final impeachment will be made seems open.

[Anchor]
And let's talk about breaking news that we just heard today. The prosecution decided to transfer the case of President Yoon and Minister Lee Sang-min to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit withdrew the request for the transfer of the remaining suspects, and it seems that we met this morning and talked about and discussed, so where is the background?

[Lim Joo-hye]
As the investigation continues in two branches, many problems have been revealed. First of all, the prosecution was requesting the summons of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and now the Joint Investigation Headquarters is requesting the summons, so where on earth should we go for investigation? These parts were raised as problems. In particular, the lawyers of the president of Yoon Suk Yeol also need to adjust their investigative rights while taking this issue. For that reason, he also indicated that it was difficult to attend now. In this process, in fact, if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit requests a transfer, it now stipulates that if there is no other reason, it should be taken away if there is no necessary reason. Considering this, there seem to be situations in which the prosecution has no choice but to transfer to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and now only President Yoon Suk Yeol and Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min have been transferred, and in the case of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, the rest of them have already been secured and the prosecution has not transferred that part because the investigation has been completed to some extent. Therefore, I think the prosecution will also proceed with the investigation of those involved for the time being.

[Anchor]
First of all, from the media's point of view, there was a bit of confusion because the investigation was divided into many branches, and there was a point that if the evidence was scattered in various organizations, it would be less efficient. As the Yoon Suk Yeol presidential investigation was transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, in a way, the core investigation content was transferred. Then, in a way, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit becomes a situation where you hold the key, can you see it like this?

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. First of all, the most important part is now being accused of rebellion, and now that peak, that tip of the sword, was eventually facing the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. If the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit takes the right to investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol, I think the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will secure a lot of data. However, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun is known to have played an important role in the incident as much as President Yoon Suk Yeol. However, in the case of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, since the prosecution will continue to investigate the case, it is true that they will cooperate for the time being to reveal the truth of the case, but as you said, the key part, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, will attempt to secure new recruits in the future for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing the knife edge of the investigation. The key to the investigation is right, so the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit can play a leading role in this investigation. This evaluation is possible.

[Anchor]
It has been reported that each investigative agency's subjects specify themselves as the head of the civil war in their attendance requests, and the head of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit said this. You said it was most appropriate to secure President Yoon through an arrest warrant, but is there a possibility of his arrest?

[Lim Joo-hye]
The possibility of arrest seems to be open. First of all, the prosecution and the Joint Investigation Headquarters continued to send summons requests to President Yoon Suk Yeol. Rather than sending it in anticipation that President Yoon Suk Yeol would comply with the summons right now, I believe he continued to demand the summons in consideration of that because continuing to refuse to comply with the summons could increase such awareness of the need to issue an arrest warrant. In the case of emergency arrest, concerns about escape to be arrested immediately and difficulties in securing recruits should be calculated, but considering President Lee's status, I think he is calculating whether to obtain a warrant and eventually conduct an investigation when the explanation for a crime is completed to some extent, rather than attempting an emergency arrest.

[Anchor]
Roh Sang-won, former intelligence commander, is suspected of being the planner behind martial law, as several key figures are already in custody. They say they gave up the warrant review today, but what role did they play this time?

[Lim Joo-hye]
Former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won is a civilian.

[Anchor]
Since I've been discharged from the military.

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. Actually, the expression "Jeon" was already expressed as "Jeon" before. In fact, when there was an emergency martial law, he was not a soldier. How could a civilian have been involved in martial law so deeply, this comes to mind as an issue. Former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won was the intelligence commander during the Park Geun Hye government. However, there are talks that he has also had a very close relationship with former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is a senior in the military. There are statements that former intelligence commander Roh was very deeply involved in writing the martial law proclamation, which is now pointed out as a constitutional problem. In fact, before the declaration of emergency martial law, I met with key officials at a fast food restaurant to discuss martial law in advance.

[Anchor]
It's two days ago, so it's almost the end, right?

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right, there are specific statements from these participants that discussions related to martial law were conducted at the place, so it's known that how they were able to freely communicate with key military officials and voice their role and voice on these critical issues as civilians at the time, and that this is an issue of investigation and that they have now given up the actual examination of the arrest warrant. Rather than talking about your own story at the warrant hearing right now, I think you will have time to calmly organize future countermeasures and defense logic.

[Anchor]
We also looked at the arrest situation related to martial law and civil war. President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyer is also talking about it, and lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is acting as an advisor, and he says that this investigation, which is being conducted now, is an illegal investigation and a relational investigation. So does that mean you're not going to be active on this after all?

[Lim Joo-hye]
First of all, the situation is very urgent. The pace of the investigation is expanding very much and progressing very quickly, so it is true that the preparation time is needed for President Yoon Suk Yeol. Although lawyers are being set up, there are criminal trials for civil war and constitutional trials, and it seems necessary to set up a larger defense team to respond to these parts. Therefore, it is understandable to implement a delay strategy to some extent because we need time now, but we cannot respond to the request of the investigative agency to attend because of the mad investigation. This kind of response is that Korea is a rule of law. If there is a problem now, it is the most appropriate way to come within the boundaries of the judicial system and explain it through a trial, since the person's unfairness or exercise of defense rights must be carried out within the boundaries of the judicial system.

[Anchor]
Anyway, President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers seem to be focusing on proving that it is not a civil war, but what do you think will be the basis for claiming that it is not a civil war?

[Lim Joo-hye]
I think we can find the basis in the president's statement. First of all, I think it is worth paying attention to the fact that there was justification for the purpose. So, by explaining his justification for declaring an emergency martial law, I think I will emphasize that this was not the purpose of the national constitution, but rather to straighten the order of the country. And I think it will emphasize the principle of due process. So, the president's constitutional authority is right to declare emergency martial law. But it is also the power of the National Assembly to demand its lifting. Therefore, when President Yoon Suk Yeol finally voted to lift it at the National Assembly, he lifted the emergency martial law, so there was no violation of the law in the entire process. Therefore, I think it will emphasize that the purpose of the national constitution or that it did not take such a way, and finally, because the emergency martial law situation ended very quickly, I think I will argue that there was no violation of the basic rights of the people, based on these points, and that the crime of rebellion is not established.

[Anchor]
Another point to point out is that according to today's breaking news, the investigation of President Yoon Suk Yeol has been transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. The prosecution notified me of my attendance at the weekend, but does this invalidate, what happens?

[Lim Joo-hye]
It seems that the window will be unified through the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. The weekend attendance has been notified now, but it has not been accepted yet, that is, it is not reached, so it is difficult to say that it means anything.

[Anchor]
Then, in the current state, there were many predictions that President Yoon Suk Yeol would go to the prosecution, which is his home, but he can't go even if he wants to go to the prosecution, right?

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. In this case, it seems much more likely that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will send a request for attendance and announce this part again.

[Anchor]
And among the stories that came out again yesterday, President Yoon will make his position clear in court. So I think we also talked about the possibility of public argument. Then, if you come to the public hearing of the impeachment trial, will you come to the public hearing for the first time in constitutional history?

[Lim Joo-hye]
That's right. But the possibilities are open. President Yoon Suk Yeol may be able to communicate his defense logic or his position well from the perspective of a legal professional because he was a former legal professional. However, it is necessary to wait and see whether this part will be beneficial or harmful. In terms of guaranteeing defense rights, it may be more helpful to make your arguments through the mouth of not only yourself but also other lawyers from a more objective third-party perspective, so whether President Yoon Suk Yeol will come forward to defend himself or not is an issue, but it seems necessary to look at this separately.

[Anchor]
Since the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the prosecution met to some extent to organize traffic today, I also expect that the investigation will be conducted more efficiently in the future. This has been lawyer Lim Joo-hye. Thank you.