[Issue ON] Yoon's "It's made up of impeachment"...Armored commander on standby.

■ Host: Anchor Youngsoo Kim, anchor Lee Ha-rin
■ Starring: YTN reporter Baek Jong-gyu, lawyer Yang Ji-min

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

[Anchor]
Yoon Suk Yeol's president said today that he is preparing an optimal defense team, claiming that the civil war was completely unjust and that impeachment was done in a hasty manner. While the commander of the armored unit, which operates armored vehicles and tanks, was reportedly waiting in Pangyo just before martial law was declared, there is also a wide-ranging search and seizure to confirm the alleged arrest group. Let's take a look at the investigation situation and questions with YTN reporter Baek Jong-kyu and lawyer Yang Ji-min. Welcome, two of you. First of all, President Yoon held a press conference today. Let's listen to the content first and continue the conversation. If you summarize it a little, there is no civil war that is foreshadowed. It's like, "There's no civil war to quit just because you're telling me to quit." What's the basis for claiming that it's not a crime of rebellion?

[Reporter]
President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of press questions and answers this morning and afternoon. He expressed that the emergency martial law was not a personal complaint, but a state of emergency. President Yoon Suk Yeol has never even thought about the crime of rebellion. He also predicted that he would be in a rebellion like that and revealed that there is no one who would be in a rebellion. At the same time, he said he told the military and police that they should not collide with citizens. Regarding the suspicion of arresting major figures, including politicians, which could be a watershed in proving the charges of rebellion, he/she heard that he/she has never been arrested. At the same time, he said, "Why would the president talk about arrest when he is a lawyer?" Military officials continue to say that President Yoon personally instructed the lawmakers ahead of the vote to lift martial law.

[Anchor]
It's a statement that contradicts the testimony of military officials.

[Reporter]
That's right. Regarding whether to comply with the request for attendance at the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the defense team refused to give an immediate answer, saying it would be the content to answer later. In the end, there is an analysis that it is an all-round public opinion battle by publicly expressing its position to the media.

[Anchor]
The National Police Agency Commissioner said that, and an NIS official also talked. The specific list of arrests and the story of the location have all been mentioned, but the president's lawyer has not even brought up the arrest. How did you like it?

[Jimin Yang]
That's why it seems very important to secure non-Phone, which can be seen as objective evidence. Because we are not cooperating with the seizure and search, we are not able to secure a server for non-Phone now. If we secure the server of the non-Phone, we can guess who President Yoon talked to and how the military moved after that, whether the police actually set up an arrest team for arrest, and if we review this, we can guess that President Yoon gave some instructions.

Therefore, in the end, it would be best to secure such objective evidence and record it in addition to it, but it is difficult in reality, so if so, you will receive statements from related parties, which can be regarded as personal evidence, and go through such work to gauge its credibility. In the current situation, military and police officials tried to move for such an arrest anyway, and considering that there was actual military input, the statements of President Yoon Suk Yeol and the rest of the officials are contradictory anyway, so there is room for a high level of credibility in the statements made to the rest of the officials.

[Anchor]
It is important to secure a non-Phone, but even if you don't secure a non-Phone, can the testimony of the officials be a situational evidence that it is not direct evidence?

[Yang Jimin]
That's right. When reviewing cases, there are cases where there is objective evidence, but there are cases where there is no. In that case, in the end, we have no choice but to rely on the statements of the parties involved, which are personal evidence. It seems to be the same case.

[Anchor]
As you said, it is difficult to secure physical evidence, but President Yoon will apply for an injunction to lift the suspension of his duties.

[Reporter]
Attention is focusing on what kind of card President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been suspended due to the National Assembly's approval of the impeachment motion, will choose as his next card. President Yoon Suk Yeol should respond to the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit as well as the impeachment trial of the Constitutional Court. However, some say that it is possible in principle to apply for an injunction to lift the suspension of duty. Choi and Lee Chang-soo, the recently impeached heads of the Board of Audit and Inspection, have filed for a provisional injunction to lift their power to the Constitutional Court.

[Anchor]
We can look at it in the same context, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. However, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo took over as acting presidents to start state administration. In addition, it is a serious situation, and if you create such a controversy, you can be politically attacked again. As a result, there are observations that the practical benefit or necessity is low. The two former presidents, former presidents Roh Moo Hyun and Park Geun Hye, who were previously impeached, did not attempt such an injunction. And so far, it has been confirmed that the Constitutional Court has accepted no provisional injunction in the impeachment trial. In addition, there is no clear regulation on whether provisional disposition can be issued.

[Anchor]
Then, even if there are no regulations, more than 200 out of 300 lawmakers in the National Assembly voted for impeachment, so it was passed because they voted for the impeachment motion. Then, if you pass according to the National Assembly Act, your job will be suspended. By the way, you're disposing of this?

[Jimin Yang]
It doesn't seem to be profitable. Because, as you mentioned in the case of the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection or the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, the suspension of my duties should be lifted. So, there was an application for an injunction to return the suspension of duty to its original state. However, the suspension of the duties of the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection or the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office and the suspension of the president's duties cannot be the same. As you said, the suspension of the president's duties was approved by more than two-thirds of the registered members in the National Assembly and prosecuted, and accordingly, the suspension of the president's duties was suspended, so there must be some basis for reversing this. In fact, there is no basis. And in this case, we don't apply for provisional injunction. So the president, who is a former legal professional, must be well aware of these issues, but if an actual provisional injunction is filed with a slight possibility, one intention is to delay the process.

[Anchor]
As you said, I didn't apply for an injunction to cancel my suspension. It's possible, so we've looked at the possibilities. On the other hand, the formation of the president's lawyers is being delayed. How is it going now?

[Yang Jimin]
First of all, it's been talked about such as Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, or Yoon Gap-geun, former chief of the Daegu High Prosecutor's Office. However, what can be said to have been actually appointed starts with the procedure in which a senior is appointed to the relevant court or investigative agency, and that I am the lawyer in this case.
It's only being discussed like this in the actual media, and I didn't submit a senior appointment.

[Anchor]
You don't have an official defense team, do you?

[Yang Jimin]
It's true that there's no such thing. That's why the Constitutional Court is actually making a lot of effort to serve it, and if anyone, that is, just one lawyer, submitted a senior appointment without having to have a full lawyers, it's actually simple to serve it to that lawyer. Nevertheless, the fact that he is not submitting a senior appointment now is a very large case, so he is very concerned about setting up a defense team. You can also see that it is being approached carefully, but on the other hand, the delivery is actually made as soon as a lawyer is appointed, so I can postpone the submission of seniority as much as possible from the standpoint of wanting to buy a little time.

[Anchor]
The appointment of lawyers and the formation of lawyers are also being delayed, but they are not receiving documents related to impeachment.

[Reporter]
That's right. As President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to accept the documents for four days, it is expected that there will be a slight setback in the future process. The Constitutional Court sent President Yoon an impeachment resolution and a resolution to refer him to the preparatory process on the 16th. I tried to deliver these documents three times by mail until today, but they were constantly rejected. It was eventually returned. Constitutional officials also visited the presidential office in person, but they said it was useless. If the document is not delivered like this, there may be a problem with the scheduled preparation date on the 27th. So the Constitutional Court is also considering what to do if President Yoon continues to refuse to serve.

Constitutional judges, from 10 a.m. today, the judges are gathering to discuss the case hearing. This issue is expected to be discussed here as well, but no conclusion has yet been reached. In particular, if the Constitutional Court continues to refuse to receive it, we are considering the possibility of treating it as 'deemed service'. We are also considering this method of consideration, but various methods are being discussed, such as placing documents at the place of delivery and considering them as delivered a week after electronic delivery. First of all, the Constitutional Court will hold a press briefing next Monday while reviewing various possibilities. These contents will be revealed on the spot.

[Anchor]
I see.

[Anchor]
Reporter Baek said he was reviewing the consideration of service, but while reviewing the consideration of service, the judges gathered to hold a consultation. What kind of situation should I look at now?

[Jimin Yang]
So in general, in order to start proceedings in the Constitutional Court, our law adopts the principle of reaching, so we have to send it and reach the person directly, not the end. So the principle is actually delivery. Either the constitutional staff or the postman goes and actually delivers the documents. However, since the presidential residence or the presidential office is refusing to receive this, the Constitutional Court is considering various ways to get the documents to the person concerned anyway. As you said, we're called baby delivery. It is considered to be served as it is left at the place of delivery.

It's processed with what's served. There is a provision in the Constitutional Law called electronic service. So, there is a clause that says that service can be done electronically, but if I serve electronically using the information and communication network and do not receive it, it is considered to have been served more than a week after notification of registration. So, the Constitutional Court seems to be considering whether to go electronic in accordance with these constitutional laws or seek various ways such as kindergarten or public service, as is done in general civil cases.

[Anchor]
The first hearing is on the 27th, and the final hearing of the impeachment trial could take two months, three months, or six months. Isn't it too late?

[Jimin Yang]
There is a possibility of delay. So, if any electronic service, kindergarten service, or method of service is adopted and considered, the process actually begins, and President Yoon must submit an answer within 7 days of receiving it, but if he does not submit it either, the process can proceed as it is. However, the problem is that even if the hearing preparation date scheduled for the 27th is held, there should be no dispute between the two sides in a situation where there is only the opinion of one party, and discussions on how to narrow it down by expressing opinions on issues, but a substantial hearing is impossible with only one party. Therefore, there is no problem opening the due date on the scheduled date, but there is also an opinion that it can be a trial without substance.

[Anchor]
Thank you.

[Anchor]
Earlier, a reporter told us, but Roh Sang-won, a former intelligence commander who is a civilian, was arrested. And it was indicated in the warrant that martial law HID, or special mission, was operated. Recently, the National Assembly's National Defense Committee also asked a related question. Let's listen to the recording first and continue the conversation. They were gathered in Pangyo. And there was a testimony that he was going to go to the NEC. First of all, what exactly is HID?

[Reporter]
The HID, which was on standby during martial law, is said to be a unit of North Korean operatives, an intelligence unit under the Intelligence Command.

[Anchor]
Do you think North Korean operatives are still in operation?

[Reporter]
It's still in operation. The opposition party also claimed that Roh Sang-won actually coordinated and controlled the North Korean maneuvering units, including HID and Assassination Group. It is a special stage under the intelligence agency. The so-called North Korean operatives, a unit we know a lot about.

[Anchor]
It appears a lot in the movie.

[Reporter]
And his nickname is Pig Unit. What this does is collect military information about overseas or North Korea. I'm in charge of obtaining confidential information like this. They also explode major North Korean facilities and bridges during wartime, kill or kidnap agents, and disturb enemy lines. In the event of local provocation, they are also tasked with conducting special warfare. Critics continue to point out that the deployment of HID, whose main task is to infiltrate North Korea and assassinate the factor and kidnap, should be considered a very serious problem.

[Anchor]
However, it is known that the 2nd Armored Brigade Commander of the Army was also on standby. What other units are the 2nd Armored Brigade?

[Reporter]
To put it simply, the 2nd Armored Brigade is a unit that operates armored vehicles and tanks. It's in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. The unit is about 30km away from downtown Seoul. It operates armored vehicles and tanks, and during the December 12 coup, it mobilized 35 tanks and armored vehicles to take control of the Ministry of National Defense's Army headquarters by force. When suspicions were raised that they were trying to mobilize tank units during the emergency martial law, the military said they had not prepared anything for the dispatch of troops. However, a meeting was held earlier at the Pangyo-based intelligence agency's office before martial law, presided over by Moon Sang-ho, the intelligence commander. At that time, this suspicion was raised because the head of the Gusamhoe Brigade, the commander of the 2nd Armored Brigade of the Army, was in the intelligence office.

[Anchor]
So I'm curious about why you went to Pangyo and waited when you were a unit in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

[Jimin Yang]
That's right. As you said, it's actually a unit in Paju and has a duty to protect the front. It is suspected that the brigade commander was waiting in the underground office of the intelligence office in Pangyo. Maybe after the declaration of martial law, opposition protests spread now. And there is a suspicion that the arrest team has been activated, and there is a suspicion that the arrest team was put on standby to help with the failure of the actual arrest or difficulty in arresting. According to the statement of the 2nd Armored Brigade commander, it is known that he was called by former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won.

In the case of former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won, he is a civilian and a former intelligence commander, but he is now known to have a very close relationship with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. Therefore, from the standpoint of this brigade commander, he continues to make statements to the effect that he was deceived, that is, that he was not aware of martial law. It seems necessary to find out whether these statements are true, why they tried to mobilize the 2nd Armored Brigade, and what purpose they had.

[Anchor]
In this regard, it is reported that it appears in the so-called martial law review document of the Defense Security Command prepared in 2017 during the Park Geun Hye government.

[Jimin Yang]
That's right. If you look at the martial law review documents, you'll find out when and how martial law troops were put in at that time. After entering at night with less resistance and securing a maneuver route, it seems to be referring to the second armored brigade in terms of vehicles and armored vehicles, that is, armored vehicles. There is a thing called quickly putting in an armored vehicle. So, at this stage, this may be a suspicion and a suspicion, but there is no choice but to suspect that based on these martial law review documents, the second armored brigade was considered to be deployed, that is, whether the situation was carefully planned at the time martial law was declared or after.

[Anchor]
And the prosecution raided the arrest team today. The
police unit and the Ministry of National Defense investigation team all raided and searched. However, regarding the operation of the arrest team, President Yoon's lawyer says that he did not tell the body of the arrest, but testimony from those involved continues to come out. There are 14 and 15 people talking about it specifically. However, it is said that the incumbent judge who acquitted Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea. How far did the investigation go?

[Reporter]
Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun was listed on the arrest list. I am the presiding judge of the 33rd criminal agreement department of the Seoul Central District Court. But where this came from is the argument of the attorney of the National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho. So, after meeting with Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, I met with reporters and told them that Judge Lee was on the list of 14 people arrested. So it hasn't been confirmed yet, but the police also revealed it. No such statement was made during the investigation. So even in the contents of this record, this is not included. That's what I'm saying. However, the police said they were going to check it, but it's not a major issue as it's missing from the record, I think they're seeing it like this.

[Anchor]
There are so many claims being made under the name of reporting and so many unconfirmed facts, so how should I be held legally responsible if it turns out to be this false?

[Jimin Yang]
If it is false, it seems that it is necessary to determine whether there was any intention to interfere with the investigation. But the statement itself is also a very specific situation. Because I saw the judge's name and asked him back because he didn't know, but he was told that he was the judge. However, another problem here is that we have not been able to secure A4 paper and A4 paper where the list is indicated.

[Anchor]
It's just that we haven't confirmed if it's 14 or 15 right now, but could it be more?

[Jimin Yang]
That's right. In fact, some people said they tore the A4 paper up when we had a meeting at the house, and some members of the State Council just left it there, so there's a need to make a statement now.

[Anchor]
You asked who Kim Dong Hyun is again?

[Jimin Yang]
Right. So, in the case of famous lawmakers such as Han Dong-hoon, Jeong Cheong-rae, and Lee Jae-myung, I asked who Kim Dong-hyun was, and the statement to the effect that he was very surprised by the judge who sentenced Lee Jae-myung's trial at the time could be very reliable even when viewed from the court.

[Anchor]
You're saying you didn't make a statement?

[Jimin Yang]
That's right. I didn't make a statement, and I didn't make a statement at this stage of the investigation, but there's a possibility that it'll appear as a statement later through the court stage or other procedures.

[Reporter]
The police couldn't find this A4 paper, so if you just find this A4 paper, all the names of these characters will come out. Therefore, it seems that there is also an intention to reveal the situation after checking the situation related to the investigation later.

[Anchor]
I see. Thank you very much. This has been with YTN reporter Baek Jong-gyu and lawyer Yang Ji-min. Thank you.