[News UP] Investigation 'unified' as Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit...Should we summon President Yoon?

■ Host: Anchor Yoon Jae-hee, Anchor Cho Jin-hyuk
■ Starring: Lawyer Park Sung-bae

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


[Anchor]
Let's take a closer look at the martial law investigation situation with lawyer Park Sung-bae. Please come in. Now, the investigation into allegations of taking them to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has become unified. In fact, in the case of the prosecution, there was such a request for a transfer before, but at that time, they did not respond, but the investigation was accelerated, so they were in a situation like that, right?

[Park Sung-bae]
The police, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the prosecution have been in conflict over the investigation, but some traffic has been cleared. The prosecution transferred the investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. This part seems to be largely for two reasons.

First, if the president of Yoon Suk Yeol is not currently responding to the police and prosecution's summons, and there is a concern that the suspect will refuse or refuse to comply with the request for attendance, an arrest warrant can be issued. However, President Yoon said, "Both agencies are requesting a recall at the same time. They are expressing their position that they do not know which institution to attend. This reason can be said to be a reason for a judge who needs to issue an arrest warrant to be reluctant to issue a warrant as it is a double risk. In addition, even if the investigation is conducted by attending either side, even if the investigation is conducted in response to the prosecution's summons, the prosecution's investigation that did not comply with the request for transfer by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is illegal, and there is a possibility that the court will argue that the report prepared and various evidence collected based on the report are illegal.

In other words, it seems that the prosecution decided that some of the traffic should be cleared and some of the cases should be transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit to block disputes on illegality. However, the prosecution decided not to demand any more transfers to military personnel, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has already secured the recruits. Under the Corruption Investigations Unit Act, when there is a request for a transfer, it is obligated to comply with the relevant investigative agency.
Of course, there is no compulsory clause.Ma is obliged to comply, so the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has decided not to demand transfer of personnel from the prosecution, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

[Anchor]
From what you say, I think we can evaluate that the cause of the Yoon Suk Yeol's refusal to comply with the summons or attendance has disappeared. What do you think?

[Park Sung-bae]
Now, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit sends a summons notice, usually by phone a couple of times, and if they don't respond, they send a request for attendance. If you refuse to comply with three or four summonses, including phone calls and attendance requests, it can be said that issuing an arrest warrant is a step. Now, there is no justification for refusing to comply with the request for summons, and there is no room to reject the arrest warrant for President Yoon because it is a place to demand military and official secrets, unlike the seizure and search warrant. It seems that we will have to comply with the summons first.

[Anchor]
There seems to be a different opinion within the prosecution about this decision yesterday. What do you think?

[Park Sung-bae]
In fact, it seems that the Special Investigation Headquarters did not recognize the decision of the Prosecutor General in advance. The head of the special headquarters is the head of the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office, and the head of the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office made a surprise visit to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office yesterday. There's also a rumor that it's a protest visit. The prosecution is said to have entered the stage of organizing the suspected facts to issue an arrest warrant for President Yoon internally. In other words, the issuance of a warrant was imminent.

Nevertheless, as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit transferred the investigation into President Yoon and the Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, there seems to be a backlash from within. However, in order to block disputes over illegality in the future, it can be evaluated that the transfer of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is a natural step.

[Anchor]
You said it was a controversy over illegality, but in fact, even if you reject the request for transfer from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, there is no legal provision for it, right?

[Park Sung-bae]
For example, in the case of the special prosecutor, if the special prosecutor fails to comply with the request to transfer the case to the relevant agency, criminal punishment can be imposed depending on the request or situation. However, there is no provision itself to enforce the request for transfer by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Also, there are no regulations related to how long the transfer should be made. As a result, it seems that the prosecution has not immediately transferred it, and it is not clear whether the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has the right to investigate rebellion. The prosecution and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are in the same position as they are investigating the rebellion on the grounds that it is a related case of abuse of authority, but since we have been investigating a large part of it, there may be an internal backlash as to why they are handing over the case to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit at this point.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers are expected to announce their position today, so what message can we expect to come out of this traffic arrangement ahead of the announcement of their position?

[Park Sung-bae]
First of all, it is expected that he will announce his position to attend at some point. Of course, it will take some time to organize the case, collect data to be explained, and form a defense team, but it is expected to indicate the intention to attend. If you do not show your intention to attend now, it seems inevitable to issue an immediate arrest warrant. In addition, the Constitutional Court has recently requested that related proclamations and minutes of the Cabinet meeting be submitted, and it is expected to clarify its position on this.

But the problem is that the minutes do not exist. The fact that the minutes do not exist can be quite a problem. The declaration of emergency martial law must go through the deliberation of the State Council under the constitution. Nevertheless, the fact that the minutes do not exist is a clue that the Cabinet meeting did not exist, which itself can lead to a great deal of controversy over unconstitutionality. Perhaps the announcement of the position is expected to include a plea that the minutes have actually been deliberated by the State Council, even if they do not officially exist.

[Anchor]
In any case, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is expected to speed up the investigation into the president. You don't have the power to prosecute the president, do you? Won't you come back to the prosecution anyway?

[Park Sung-bae]
The purpose of the establishment of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is that the investigation of high-ranking public officials is not carried out smoothly. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was established to focus on the investigation. Nevertheless, since it is relatively close to the prosecution, which has the right to prosecute, it has presented the right to prosecute those who may not be prosecuted properly, such as prosecutors, judges, and police officers. However, in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol or former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min, this is not the case, so the case must be sent back to the prosecution even after the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit completes the prosecution.

For the prosecution who took over the case, if the investigation is ripe enough to prosecute, it can be prosecuted immediately, but if the investigation has not been fully conducted enough to prosecute, there is a possibility that it will ask the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit to investigate again or conduct its own investigation.

[Anchor]
What if that happens? As a result of the prosecution's review, there was a case like this even before there was a need for a reinforcement investigation. Wasn't there a ping pong game where we said we should play each other?

[Park Sung-bae]
From the point of view of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, you can question why you don't prosecute when you've done enough to investigate, and from the point of view of the prosecution, you can protest how to prosecute with this much investigation and that there is a good possibility of innocence. If so, there may be disputes over who will conduct the remaining investigations, and in fact, the case is said to be investigating each other, so if there is some lack of investigation, the prosecution is likely to conduct its own investigation, and if there is any lack of investigation, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is likely to come forward and express its position that we will conduct a supplementary investigation on our own.

[Anchor]
However, such concerns and criticism about the investigative power of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are also continuing. There is also a concern that the president and former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min are literally in charge of the investigation, and whether they will do it properly. How do you rate it?

[Park Sung-bae]
Since the incident emerged, the Airborne has stated that it will put all other cases aside and go all in on the case. Concerns are raised despite the fact that there are many major cases to proceed, including the case of Chae Sang-byung. Of course, it takes a long time to finalize the verdict.Since the launch of the Corruption Investigations Unit, there has not been a conviction yet. There are quite a lot of questions about competence, but in this case, the investigation is not conducted alone by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. We have formed a cooperative body and receive sufficient support from the police and military judicial police.

At least in order to avoid the dispute over illegality, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit should directly interrogate the suspect.It is expected that the police and military judicial police will fully conduct the collection of related data or the investigation of reference. As it receives considerable manpower and material support, unlike other cases, it can be expected that the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will proceed to some extent.

[Anchor]
The date of the prosecution's second summons to President Yoon Suk Yeol is Saturday and 21st. So I don't have to respond to this?

[Park Sung-bae]
Even if the date of notification of summons is designated, you can attend on another day even if you cannot attend on that date. For example, you can attend until the following week or the following week, and this position makes the infield judge hesitate to issue an arrest warrant. Otherwise, if you do not set a deadline and protest that you will no longer be able to attend because you are not ready yet, the possibility of destroying evidence continues to be raised, so the judge has no choice but to issue an arrest warrant, and if an arrest warrant is issued, you will be executed. As explained earlier, unlike the search and seizure, the execution of arrest warrants for official or military secrets cannot be prevented. Nevertheless, there may be cases where the bodyguard is actually blocking it. At this time, it is likely that a large number of police personnel will be mobilized and the arrest warrant will be executed in the process of arresting the current criminal on charges of obstructing the execution of public affairs at the scene.

[Anchor]
However, the joint investigation, which includes the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, is now having difficulty in the search and seizure of the president.
As a result, some point out that acting president Han Deok-soo should give his opinion on the seizure and search related to the presidential office. Do you have that authority?

[Park Sung-bae]
Yesterday, the security service said that it is difficult to cooperate with the police who conducted a search and seizure of the police chief Cho Ji-ho's phone server. In fact, it is quite questionable whether this part is a official or military secret, so it is expected that controversy will continue to be raised in the future. It is not just a controversy, but if the allegations against President Yoon are proven to some extent, the reason is expected to serve as a reason for the issuance of an arrest warrant during the investigation stage.

If it is specified to some extent, the security service is also obligated to cooperate to some extent. However, is acting Han Deok-soo obligated to give consent as the person in charge? Acting President Han Deok-soo can also perform general presidential duties as acting president. In this case, the president of Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended due to the decision of a special prosecution, so it is not a vacancy, but an accident. In the case of an accident, there is a majority opinion that the acting president's authority should not change the status quo and should be limited to the status quo, but of course, the status quo change referred to here refers to a change in policy or personnel change.

In addition, it is widely believed that the duties that many presidents have to perform can also be performed as an acting president. If so, it should be considered that the president can perform all the usual duties of the president, such as exercising his veto as a president, expressing his consent to the search and seizure as a person in charge, and appointing a constitutional judge. It seems reasonable to think that the authority to consent to the seizure and search is also sufficiently granted.

[Anchor]
In the midst of this, the level of military force and armament that were put into the National Assembly and the NEC at the time of martial law was specifically confirmed. It seems to be contrary to President Yoon's claim that he made every effort to prevent
safety accidents.

[Park Sung-bae]
About 1,500 soldiers, including special forces, water radiators, counterintelligence agents, and intelligence agents, were mobilized, and firearms such as sniper guns were mobilized, but no individual live ammunition was provided. 107 vehicles and 12 helicopters were mobilized. In fact, it is necessary to comprehensively examine the circumstances not only at the time of the incident, but also before and after the incident, whether it was just a warning or whether there was a serious intention to maneuver the civil war. Before the incident, did they have detailed preliminary plotting with the defense minister and the counterintelligence commander? At the time of the incident, what level of troop input was the level of intention to block constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the NEC? After the incident, to what extent was President Yoon willing to respond to the National Assembly's demand for the lifting of martial law? Looking at the overall situation, it is expected to conclude whether this case was just a warning or a failed martial law. Perhaps the investigative agency will try to draw the overall picture before, at the time of the incident, and after the incident, and if the strand is caught to some extent, what is the substance of this case? Whether it was just a warning or a serious doctor who practiced martial law, but failed, the composition is expected to be drawn.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, there is a civilian who has emerged as a key figure in the alleged rebellion. Former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won was arrested. So, they are suspected of gathering at a hamburger restaurant and pre-mocking martial law. What's the charge of carrying out a rebellion?

[Park Sung-bae]
The crime of rebellion is largely divided into three stages. The first is the head, the second is the command, the execution of important mission workers, and the third is the performance of hatching, so it refers to simple participation. Insurrection execution is also essentially no different from important mission workers. It means that it played a key role in the civil war in being punished for the same mission as an important missionary.

The fact that former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won was arrested in this case is quite meaningful. From President Yoon's point of view, martial law has been seriously plotted in advance, and when he notified active-duty soldiers of this emergency martial law plot, it is quite questionable to what extent active-duty soldiers can take it seriously and implement it. In addition, 15 days have passed since this incident took place. One or two weeks have passed, and the Seoul Central District Court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant as four judges in charge of warrants take turns one week at a time.

But if a judge arrests multiple people on the same issue in the state, it can be seen as the judge's own view.Ma said that despite the changes in the stock prices of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Bong-sik, and former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won yesterday, the fact that he issued an arrest warrant without a single exception proves that the issue is highly likely to be a rebellion.

[Anchor]
The prosecution summoned Kim Hyun-tae, head of the 707 Special Forces, as a reference. He also cried saying he was a victim who was used by former Minister Kim Yong-hyun. When I looked at the situation at the time of martial law, there was a scene of breaking the window and entering the National Assembly. It can be seen that he did not actively protest. It was a simple family story, can I be held guilty like this?

[Park Sung-bae]
At least, the special commander can be held accountable for the crime of rebellion. Of course, it is up to the investigative agency to decide whether to view it as an important mission worker or as a hatching performance. Special Forces commander, counterintelligence commander, and defense commander have all been issued arrest warrants. Even if people in the position of a commander have not actively performed their duties, they can be evaluated as important mission workers once they have moved in support of the order.

Below that, what kind of action did the special commander show. The act of breaking the door of the National Assembly itself may be regarded as an important mission worker. However, according to the judgment of the investigative agency, it does not appear to be an important mission worker, but is a passive job performance, so there seems to be room for it to be seen as a hatch performance. Even if he confessed his conscience and cooperated with the investigation, there seems to be no theory about whether he participated in the rebellion. The crime of rebellion seems to be a difficult situation to avoid.

[Anchor]
I don't think I can avoid responsibility, so I'll sort it out like this. So far, I've been with lawyer Park Sung-bae. Thank you.