[News NIGHT] The investigation of President Yoon's Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit...Move to Seoul Detention Center

■ Host: Anchor Moon Sung-gyu and anchor Lee Eun-sol
■ Starring: Choi Soo-young, political commentator, former lawmaker of the Justice Party Park Won-seok

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



[Anchor]
There are two experts in the studio today. Critic Choi Soo-young and former Justice Party lawmaker Park Won-seok came out. Welcome, two of you. I expected it to be tonight.Ma started moving a little while ago. From the airlift to the Seoul Detention Center. I think there was the first survey for about 10 hours and 30 minutes today. They said they exercised their right to remain silent. How did you hear that?

[Choi Soo-young]
That's what I'm saying. I've only heard that I've been exercising my right to remain silent, but if so, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has given me a 48-hour arrest deadline, but in this situation, I think it's more efficient to go to a detention center, take a rest, and then be investigated again the next morning. However, even if a day passes, President Yoon's position is unlikely to change, so the key is how much more investigation will be conducted tomorrow before he can request an arrest warrant. So are you going to fill 48 hours or after about 36 hours? Or, if President Yoon's intention to cooperate is confirmed after 24 hours, he will probably have to go to the second round of requesting an arrest warrant through a meeting of the leadership, but since President Yoon went to the detention center tonight, the leadership and the prosecutors in charge will gather for a strategy meeting. So, since President Yoon's exercise of the right to remain silent is legal, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit cannot do anything more about it, so I think the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will discuss strategies such as how to complete the investigation in a meaningful way.

[Anchor]
We've moved to the Seoul Detention Center. What did you think of it as a general review?

[Park Won-seok]
The president's exercise of the right to refuse to make a statement was not scheduled from the beginning, and the president's lawyers announced it. The president's lawyers say they can't state this because it's not a legitimate execution of an arrest warrant.Even if it was a legitimate process, it is most advantageous to refuse to make a statement in terms of defense rights, I think there was also a prediction of this strategy. I don't know what questions were asked by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but from the position of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the president's statement is very important because he is suspected of being the head of the civil war. Therefore, he would have asked various dense questions to break the president's right to refuse to state, but he has continued to refuse to state until now. But with all of the key mission workers in the civil war already under arrest and prosecution, quite a few statements have come from there. Since there are many things that go against what the president and the president's lawyers have said so far, I don't think it's too much to ask for a warrant based on such an investigation. However, as you said before the time of the warrant's loading, we need to see whether it will fill 48 hours or whether it will request a warrant and move on to the actual review stage even if it is less than 48 hours after asking all the prepared questions. Looking at the breaking news earlier today, I asked for an arrest suit. In the first place, there was an observation that they were not asking for an arrest suit, but the Seoul Central District Court asked for an arrest suit against the legality of the arrest, so we need to wait and see the results.

[Anchor]
Then, the validity time of the arrest warrant is 48 hours, so I think the results of the arrest warrant should come out sooner. I think it should come out tomorrow.

[Park Won-seok]
That's right. Considering the interests of the suspect, the arrest suit is likely to be judged as soon as possible, and I think it will come out immediately tomorrow morning.

[Anchor]
With the right to remain silent now, we've been investigating for 48 hours and 11 hours today. Will President Yoon's position change or his posture change tomorrow?

[Choi Soo-young]
I don't think so either. That's why the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has prepared all 200 pages of questions. Because the prosecution of the key workers is almost confirmed and the indictment has been written, how much should I check from there alone? Last time, it was known as 100 pages in the first arrest warrant, but now it has almost doubled. But even if you check all of them, it doesn't mean anything if the president exercises his right to remain silent. However, what I can predict is that when the president said he would cooperate with the warrant this time and issued a video message, the illegal remains unchanged. However, I made it clear that I did not admit this because I only appeared to prevent a bloody conflict, and that this process itself was very violent, illegal, and then illegal. If so, an arrest warrant came illegally, and I was detained in an arrest warrant and I was investigated, so I don't have to talk about all the issues. And as the Constitutional Court hearing is underway, the strategy to fight there seems clear, so now it seems difficult for the police to investigate, not the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, to get a statement about President Yoon on a track of the search, so I'd rather just proceed with the indictment and indict us without detention. In view of the fact that he said that it would be better to argue for guilt or innocence at the court, I think anyway, since the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has jurisdiction over the Central District Court, when filing a prosecution. In any case, it will have to be done now through the Central District Court. Because it's not a special situation. In that sense, it would be right to predict that it would be difficult to expect a situation that would be different from today's tomorrow because President Yoon is now pursuing a strategy to fight for guilt or innocence in the Central District Court.

[Anchor]
There was also an observation that we can even do a late-night survey. But now he's moved to a detention center. There were also stories such as a long-term battle for two nights and three days. What do you think about this part that was completed relatively quickly?

[Park Won-seok]
First of all, the necessity or effectiveness of a late-night investigation is very low in the situation where the president refuses to make a statement. And if you don't agree, you can't conduct a late-night investigation, so I don't think there was any reason to overdo the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. And I have another day tomorrow, so I think the court in charge of the warrant will be concerned about the investigation tomorrow focusing on the prepared questions. There is no guarantee that this will necessarily be done in the Central District Court, and there is a possibility that you may seek an arrest warrant from the Western District Court because you have received an arrest warrant from the Western District Court. The president's lawyers are raising the issue again, and it is the discretion of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit anyway, so even if you request a warrant from the Western District Court, you are likely to comply with the warrant review. If you don't comply with the warrant review, it's disadvantageous because you're going to give up arguing at the stage of an arrest warrant. In the case of former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, he was arrested immediately because he said he would not fight the warrant review stage at all. However, in terms of the right to defend the suspect, the interrogation report conducted by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit can be denied its validity later. If you don't agree with it all. However, it is difficult to deny the process of arguing during the warrant review stage. So, I expect that President Yoon will do his best to fight this at the hearing stage.

[Anchor]
I haven't heard anything yet that we've arrived at the detention center. It's taking more time than expected. It's not far from Gwacheon Government Complex to Seoul Detention Center. It's about 5km, but I think it takes some time. Today, let's talk about when he was arrested. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit arrived at the residence at 4:30 a.m. and the arrest warrant was executed at around 10:30 a.m., so it took about 6 hours. I don't think there was any collision than I was concerned. How did you like it?

[Choi Soo-young]
It's already expected. Because the 101st and 55th Guards, who are under guard outside, have already expressed their intention not to actively deter them anyway, and the military and police command have also been instructed not to do so. So the last key was the third cordon, how much fierce resistance or defense there would be at the place where some kind of security guards wore the human chain last time, but the security office seems to have been internally settled based on the fact that the door to the official residence was opened easily. And looking at the situation at that time, I think the command lines of the security service made a subjective judgment that the security guards should take care of themselves. That's why there can't be a collision. I think the biggest problem was that the key commander, Deputy Chief Kim Sung-hoon, was with the president. Because an arrest warrant has been issued, you can't come out and conduct command. If so, the arrest warrant will be executed first. That's why Lee Kwang-woo, the head of the security headquarters, is also the next rank, so the core command lines would eventually have commanded them indoors by radio, so how effective would that have been?
And former Chief Park Jong-joon appeared and probably talked about a lot of security strategies, so the police have grasped all the cases, so unless you take out a firearm, some physical resistance is limited to some extent.

[Anchor]
Yeah. If you look at it today, it is said that it has also entered Maebongsan Mountain.

[Choi Soo-young]
Everything was opened easily.

[Anchor]
I think I did research in many ways strategically.

[Choi Soo-young]
That's right. In that sense, I think the police's psychological warfare was very important. So, a week ago, we said we could mobilize all police units from the SWAT team to the helicopter unit, but we said no, and we went out hard on the command of the security office as a two-sided strategy, and we said we would secure new recruits, and we would do a very high-level psychological war against front-line security guards. In any case, I think it is a great relief that the president's whereabouts were delivered without any physical conflict between state agencies. The president also made it clear while receiving the warrant this time. I think the president's intention was in the final state because I said I was very concerned about the physical conflict. I think that's why they also accepted the security service. It was a very fortunate situation. In any case, for the first time in the constitutional history of President Yoon, an incumbent president went with an arrest warrant executed by a law enforcement agency. Of course, from the point of view of the presidential office, it was said that it was a voluntary appearance, but the nature of voluntary appearance was a political term, and the legal term was transferred after an arrest warrant was executed. In that respect, I would say that it was a day where a stroke was drawn in another scene in modern Korean history.

[Anchor]
I'm going to attend on my own. President Yoon Suk Yeol's position has been conveyed, but the investigation has been completed on the first day of President Yoon Suk Yeol. I'm on the way to the detention center in the security car. After the arrest warrant was executed, a video message recorded in advance of the president of Yoon Suk Yeol was released. Let's listen to it first and continue the conversation.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President] Unfortunately, the laws are all broken in this country. It is truly deplorable to see this illegal illegality committed and forcibly carried out the process by invalid warrants. Even if I am disadvantaged like this, I really don't want this to happen when our people experience such criminal cases in the future. In order to prevent unsavory bloodshed, we decided to attend the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, although it is an illegal investigation. ]

[Anchor]
The illegality of illegality was committed. There are a lot of words called illegal. How did you come?

[Park Won-seok]
After the emergency martial law, the president issued several public statements or positions, and on January 1st, he sent a letter to his supporters protesting in front of his residence, which I think is an extension of that message. There's nothing new in particular. However, I will reject the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and all court warrants and refuse to comply. However, anyway, the situation is like this, so I'm going to attend. I think you are still talking about a message that is very far from the public's perception or expectation. The president is responsible for protecting the rule of law when he says that the laws of this country are all broken. However, the president's denial and rejection of law enforcement by refusing even a court-issued warrant is the breaking of the law, declaring emergency martial law for reasons not based on our Constitution and laws, and finally causing civil war. I think it was another worst message about his actions, without any reflection, reflection, apology, or regret, just blaming others and making excuses.

[Anchor]
The length of this video is about 2 minutes and 48 seconds, and it was recorded in advance. Didn't the video get transmitted in the middle of moving to Gwacheon after the arrest? When did we record it?

[Park Won-seok]
I think I did it around that time. At that time, when the breaking news came out, there were reports that the president would leave his official residence and say something in front of the media, but I think he judged that the situation was not good and the picture was not very appropriate. So anyway, if you look at the residence before the execution of the arrest warrant, that is too different from the quality of the public message video that the president usually does. In a way, can't the quality of the video confirm that the video is improvised? I think he prepared only a brief message in advance, read it, recorded it, and released it to the media as the president departed. The situation must have been that urgent. And I don't think the top level of the security office or President Yoon expected that the security office's response would be scattered and lethargic like this. So, in the case of acting security, even before the arrest warrant was executed, he ordered the security guards to respond by radio, but the front-line security guards and middlemen didn't move at all, right? In a way, as critic Choi Soo-young said earlier, I think the main reason was that the police and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit pressed the bodyguards with both sides of the river and shook them in various ways after the first arrest warrant failed.

[Anchor]
We just arrived at the Seoul Detention Center. We've arrived, and this video is from when we're leaving. It's the first time a sitting president has been detained in a detention center. It's the first time in our constitutional history, and former presidents have been arrested after all judicial proceedings, but it's the first time a sitting president has been detained like this, so the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will also be the same.

[Choi Soo-young]
Not only the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but also the Seoul Detention Center is probably welcoming VIPs today, right? Anyway, because he is an incumbent president and the head of state. I think they must have paid a lot of attention. This is because safety issues are also safety issues, but even if the president is uncomfortable or has a slight problem with convenience, he should be treated with respect to the incumbent president anyway. However, I heard that if you enter the detention center, you have to comply with the rules on prison administration, so the security law does not apply, so it is clear that you are a sitting president anyway, so this is probably a former president since the Seoul Detention Center was established, but it is the first time that a sitting president has come, so I think the situation will continue to be managed until the president leaves through an emergency situation 24 hours a day. But you mentioned a video message a while ago, and I deduce that. Maybe two situations will be reviewed. So if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit had withdrawn the arrest warrant and accepted the form of voluntary appearance, I don't think I would have disclosed it. If so, the president would have tried to send a message when he voluntarily appeared, but this is impossible for the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Since the president said that the arrest warrant could not be withdrawn and that the president should be transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit through the execution of the warrant, lawmakers of the People's Power rushed in around that time. Maybe it's better to discuss there and send a short video message. Because the president's message should be released rather than just voice messages and handwritten messages, so I can't admit the various processes that are very emphasized over there are illegal. I appear to prevent a bloody conflict. Our legal system should not go like this. I trust the people. I think it became a video message with this kind of logical structure. In that respect, I don't think the president gave up hope for a voluntary appearance until the end. In that respect, the arrest warrant of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was executed, so I think that message was now left to the realm of justice and entered the public opinion war.

[Anchor]
Then I'd like to tell you the current situation by dissolving the field reporters now. As President Yoon Suk Yeol told you, he was detained at the Seoul Detention Center after completing an investigation at the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit at around 9:40 p.m. As I told you, we reported that you exercised your right to remain silent throughout the investigation. Connect with a reporter who is out of the field and listen to it yourself. Reporter Lim Ye-jin.

[Reporter]
This is the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do.

[Anchor]
I saw President Yoon moving from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit to the detention center, is the transfer complete?

[Reporter]
That's right. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is suspected of being the head of the civil war, was detained here at the Seoul Detention Center after completing an investigation into the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit at around 9:40 p.m. At around 7:50 p.m., the security guard bus first went inside, followed by a vehicle believed to have been on by President Yoon and a procession of security guards at around 9:50 p.m. At around 10:33 a.m. today, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, which executed an arrest warrant at the official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, escorted President Yoon to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, and began investigating the suspect from 11 a.m. After dinner, the investigation continued from 7 p.m. and completed the investigation of President Yoon at around 9:40 p.m. Although the investigation was conducted for more than 10 hours, President Yoon is said to have refused to give any answers and to make a statement. The arrested suspect can conduct a late-night investigation without consent, but the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit seems to have decided that it is not necessary to conduct an overnight investigation as President Yoon is exercising his right to remain silent.

[Anchor]
Reporter Lim, so what's your future schedule?

[Reporter]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit must decide whether to request an arrest warrant by 10:33 a.m. the day after, 48 hours from the time of President Yoon's arrest. As the deadline is not far away, the investigation is expected to continue as early as tomorrow morning, but it is unclear whether President Yoon will respond to the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit again after he is imprisoned in a detention center. Also, I'm interested in which court to request an arrest warrant. This is because President Yoon has always insisted that the warrant issued by the Western District Court is illegal. However, an official from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit said that they usually file a claim with the place where the arrest warrant was issued, and it is expected that they will actually file a claim with the Seoul Western District Court. If an arrest warrant is issued for President Yoon, the correctional authorities are expected to prepare a detention space by referring to the cases of former presidents Park Geun Hye and Lee Myung Bak. So far, I'm YTN Lim Ye-jin at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do.

[Anchor]
Then this time, let's go to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. I wonder how the investigation went today. Let's sing it. Reporter Kwon Junsu is here.

[Reporter]
It's a high-ranking government official's criminal investigation office.

[Anchor]
President Yoon, we were investigated late into the night, so please organize the situation.

[Reporter]
As reporter Lim Ye-jin said earlier, the investigation began at 7 p.m. after finishing dinner. The investigation into President Yoon was completed at 9:40 a.m. just now. It took more than two and a half hours, and an evening investigation found that President Yoon refused to make a statement. Since this morning, President Yoon has been exercising his right to remain silent. Therefore, it is expected that the investigation did not have much benefit. It has been confirmed that Cha Jung-hyun, a senior prosecutor who has been in charge of the investigation since late afternoon, conducted the evening investigation as it was.

[Anchor]
After the investigation, I just moved to the Seoul Detention Center, so can you explain the situation at that time?

[Reporter]
When I went to the scene, the security vehicle was on fire, and when I arrived at the airlift, I moved in a security guard vehicle after completing the investigation as if I had been in a security guard vehicle. President Yoon is expected to wait in the suspect's living room, which is actually a solitary cell of around 3 pyeong. If an arrest warrant is not requested or the warrant is rejected, President Yoon will be immediately released and investigated without detention. The investigation will continue by summoning it again. Regarding the detention, an official from the Ministry of Justice said that they would follow the usual procedures and explained that the president does not use a spacious room or give any other preferential treatment.

[Anchor]
In addition, President Yoon's side requested an arrest investigation?

[Reporter]
Yes, President Yoon's lawyers expressed their position shortly after the investigation of President Yoon was completed. It's not the Seoul Central District Court, that is, the Seoul Western District Court. It means that he has filed an arrest suit with the Central District Court. At a press conference in the afternoon, he said that the execution of arrest warrants by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is clearly illegal, but he does not consider arresting pride, but he changed his position. It is noteworthy that the Central District Court, not the Western District Court, where the arrest warrant was issued, requested an arrest warrant, and it is interpreted that the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the request for an arrest warrant at the Western District Court are all illegal. As the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has secured President Yoon's whereabouts with difficulty, it is expected to continue the investigation tomorrow. If the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit judges, the Seoul Detention Center will be able to call President Yoon again. Since the arrest deadline is 48 hours, an intense investigation is expected to continue to check all the more than 200 pages of questionnaires in it. It remains to be seen tomorrow what will happen to the request for an arrest suit, and now President Yoon's side explained that it is difficult for him to attend the second hearing of the impeachment trial scheduled tomorrow, but it is understood that he has submitted an application to postpone the hearing date. So far, I'm YTN Kwon Jun-su from the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Bureau.

[Anchor]
I think we need to talk more about requesting an arrest suit. First, an arrest warrant was issued and it was executed today, right? But is this right or wrong? I asked the court to decide whether the arrest warrant was issued or not. Didn't you say you did it to the Central District Court? Not the Western District Court.

[Choi Soo-young]
In fact, when it comes to arrest warrants, the only way a suspect can exercise his right to defend himself is through the legality of an arrest warrant. So this arrest warrant, after the arrest. After being detained, lawyers can ask if this arrest is justified, but the court in charge of issuing the arrest warrant is the Western District Court, and it is the Central District Court that President Yoon filed an arrest warrant.
But people can say why each warrant is different, but the Corruption Investigations Unit Act states. In the Public Offices Act, when an investigation and prosecution are filed, the Public Offices Office shall have the jurisdiction of the Central District Court. However, there is a clause that makes exceptions when there are special circumstances, such as the circumstances of the investigation, the location of the suspect, or the like. So, in principle, it's right to do it in the Central District Court. That's why the lawyers have always taken issue with the issuance of arrest warrants so far. So this time, the lawyers explicitly said that even if a prosecution is filed against the president, it should be filed with the Central District Court. In that respect, an arrest suit has been filed with the Central District Court issued by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and of course, it will come out as early as tomorrow, but in fact, I can't rule out the possibility that an arrest suit will produce unexpected results because this is the Central District Court.

[Anchor]
There was one last time. You filed an objection to the Western District Court's arrest warrant once.

[Choi Soo-young]
, but that was rejected immediately. But this was done by the Western District Court, but now it's the Central District Court. Therefore, if the Central District Court says that the arrest is unfair, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will have to release it again. So this is not very likely, but if it comes to such a situation, the judicial administration system will be very confused, so I estimate that there will be not much possibility tomorrow anyway, but we have to wait and see the results of the Central District Court.

[Anchor]
I don't know much about the law either.There is no difference between the Western District Court and the Central District Court.

[Park Won-seok]
That's not true. I think the president's lawyers keep making non-essential elements an issue. The Airborne Division Act says that what the Airborne Division raises is under the jurisdiction of the Central District Court.In accordance with the proviso to Article 31, depending on special circumstances, the competent court may be determined according to the procedures of the Criminal Procedure Act at the discretion of the Minister of Public Offenses. It's decided by the court having jurisdiction over the place of residence. But to some extent, that's the discretion of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and this is not illegal, illegal, or cheating. However, I think it is creating political issues as if there is a problem with the legitimacy of the overall process, and this strategy is used by the president's lawyers in the Constitutional Court's impeachment proceedings. However, this only gives a bad impression to the judiciary, and I don't think it will benefit them. Of course, I can't say 100% as a result of the arrest.Ma believes that the possibility of dismissal is very high, for example, when President Yoon cooperated with the investigation process, an arrest warrant came out. Then you can see that it's not a requirement. However, there was no cooperation at all, and for example, there was illegality in the procedure for issuing an arrest warrant. It's not like that either. The arrest was carried out with a warrant issued by the court. Therefore, even though it is unlikely to be accepted, I would make this a political issue rather than saying that doing so would actually cause a legal dispute. I think that's the intention. That's why we have to keep requesting arrest warrants to the Central District Court. They say that a warrant request not made in the Central District Court is invalid, but I don't know why President Yoon's lawyers keep creating laws and making sophistry as if they have monopolized the interpretation of the law.

[Anchor]
Arrest suitability will be dismissed anyway. They predicted it like this. Returning to the situation at the time of the arrest, he was detained at the Seoul Detention Center for now, but he did not stand in the photo line as he entered the back gate when he was escorted to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit earlier. How did you analyze these things when you could only see the back of your head briefly?

[Choi Soo-young]
For me, that was a somewhat predicted situation. Because haven't the president, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and the security service already held a three-way consultation at their official residence from 9 o'clock? At that time, five to six members of the security service had already departed for the airlift and made their movements. But the president's plan to release a video message means he won't stand on the photo line, right? If so, the front gate of the photo line is the front gate, so there are stairs and the airlift office is in the form of the main gate of the Gwacheon Government Complex, but if you go through the back door, it leads to the parking lot.

[Anchor]
Hold on. Is that the screen when you're leaving the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit?

[Choi Soo-young]
It looks like when you leave for Seoul Detention Center from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. It seems that he is a little tired, and looking at the back, it's a relationship where the officials of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit have to be accompanied in order to be escorted.

[Anchor]
Since the vehicle is a security service vehicle, agents of the security service and officials of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit.

[Choi Soo-young]
I think we should look at the situation where the officials are mixed.

[Anchor]
How's your expression?

[Choi Soo-young]
a tired expression Even if we exercised our right to remain silent, we had very intense debates and situations from early this morning.

[Anchor]
Many members of the People's Power went to their official residence today, and again today. Did lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun tell you? I said that President Yoon would be very hungry because he ate only a few pieces of bread this morning. It's a tutoring story. Anyway, I would have been investigated by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit today and had lunch or dinner in between. But anyway, I was investigated on a massive questionnaire of about 200 pages. Anyway, I exercised my right to remain silent.Ma must have been quite an exhausting time.

[Park Won-seok]
That's right. Anyway, the investigation room isn't that big. I sat there and exercised my right to remain silent, but it is very tiring to spend time listening to questions, and President Yoon probably couldn't sleep much last night because the execution of the warrant was imminent. Because of that, he must be exhausted in various situations, and he was in a situation similar to house arrest with his job suspended.Ma was in the presidential residence and now has to spend the first night in a very unfamiliar prison facility, but I think there will be a lot of mixed feelings. But on the other hand, we can't say yet whether this will be an arrest warrant or not.Ma can be a very familiar routine for President Yoon, this process. So I think it's better to get ready anyway. I don't know what time the investigation will resume tomorrow morning.We don't have much time at the airlift. This is because the investigation will be conducted tight tomorrow, considering that you have to guarantee a break time, meal time, and usually request a warrant a little earlier than 48 hours full.

[Anchor]
And because today was not a profitable time.

[Park Won-seok]
But I don't think that will change tomorrow either. This is a strategy to exercise the right to remain silent from the beginning, so I don't think the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will respond to tomorrow or the question because it is technically good.

[Anchor]
You told me about 200 pages. It's a considerable amount of questions.If Ma exercised his right to remain silent, it could have been a passing question. That's what I'm thinking.

[Choi Soo-young]
That's right. If you keep doing it to check, the prosecutor asks questions, the president doesn't check, but moves on, moves on, moves on, and just writes it down. I exercised my right to remain silent. If that happens, it actually means nothing. After all, the investigation into the president is a substantive truth. Then, because it is said to be a mob of civil war, did the statements made by the key workers concerned really get approval from the president because he is the leader at the peak? The president has to check how he influenced his decision on this, but there is no confirmation of the final status. If so, President Yoon's side now says that I'll talk about it when I fight the truth in court. So I think if President Yoon opens his mouth and Yoon's remarks come out, it's a binding pride. So, the first comment. In that regard, the lawyers will of course be involved in the arrest of President Yoon, but I think the president can do it. Therefore, it is very likely that President Yoon will make his position for the first time in an arrest suit, and if it becomes a trial process next, he will naturally make his position during the trial, but the president will argue that the Constitutional Court rather than the investigation now has the right to declare why I invoked the emergency martial law of the Constitution and declared it because I have the right to declare it, but the National Assembly has the right to cancel it, so I will decide to cancel it and legally handle the entire process. From that point of view, there is almost a 90% chance that the president will not cooperate with this investigation tomorrow, whether it is 200 pages now or not.

[Anchor]
Everyone kept saying this in the video.Ma decided to attend to prevent bloodshed. But that doesn't mean I'm admitting the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, so I won't answer questions from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit today. You might have had this kind of mindset. But anyway, you're going to have to exercise your right to self-defense at any time and somehow. But there was one article that drew attention today. President Yoon issued a video message like that, but he also published another long article. We saw it on social media. How did you see the article?

[Park Won-seok]
In fact, the content is not much different from what President Yoon has said so far, especially election fraud, so-called conspiracy theory. While pointing out the suspicions he has in great detail, how can this not be a national emergency? equivalent to wartime events This article is about self-rationalization. However, in the case of a kind of conspiracy theory related to election fraud by the NEC, it has already been verified several times by investigative agencies and courts.

[Anchor]
So, overall, today's message is... Did you say that this is a 200-character manuscript worth 44 copies? It's very long.

[Park Won-seok]
In particular, the previous part worked hard on various achievements during his two years in office, and these achievements were made. The focus is on the content that informs this, and then our national interest can be very dangerous. In particular, our security can be very vulnerable by a form of invasion different from the past of foreign powers, and the concept of modern security is very comprehensive, and we talk about election fraud.

[Anchor]
That's why I devoted a lot of time to talking about election fraud.

[Park Won-seok]
So, if you just read that letter today, wasn't the direct motive for President Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law and civil war to correct election fraud in the end? And on the same day that martial law was declared on December 3, the troops were dispatched to the National Assembly and two election committees, and more people went to the election committee than the National Assembly, so I think President Yoon was in serious delusion. And you're still not waking up from that delusion. And I'm very concerned that many of the Korean people are still under the illusion that they share their thoughts on election fraud.

[Anchor]
While discussing the fraudulent election theory today, I compared it to a case where the killer was not found. Many bodies that were stabbed to death have been found, but the failure to identify the killer does not mean there is no murder. It was this logical structure. What do you think?

[Choi Soo-young]
That's why President Yoon used to be a prosecutor. As a result, the circumstantial evidence is not clear by using the prosecutor's days, but there seems to be a fact anyway. However, I think they are saying that the criminal is not clear, so can we cover up this case? It repeats a few times, similarly. But what I felt while looking at the long article today was that this would be the main framework for the Constitutional Court's hearing. It's very long. It was written by the president himself. If so, no one typed it for you, and the president didn't dictate it. He wrote it down as the president thought himself. Therefore, in a way, the logical structure is leaps and bounds, but I think it is a very important data in that it contains the president's honest thoughts. That's when it was written in the beginning of the new year. I think it's a time of conflict over the execution of arrest warrants. Because later, if you look at the bottom, there are other stories about security officials surrounding arrest warrants. That's why I think it'll be about last week, but the logical structure in the president's head when he was writing such a long article at his official residence contained justification for martial law, motivation for why he did it, and then the nature of a public opinion battle that he must inform the public about it. So I think if this is oral, the president will talk about it in a similar structure at the Constitutional Court hearing, so I think this long letter will take the form of a public opinion war by being released, but I think we need to pay attention to these things because I think it will actually take on the nature of a theory war in the hearing.

[Anchor]
There was an immediate rebuttal to this. It's the NEC's refutation. It is difficult to accept. He refuted the fraudulent election theory one by one. How did you see this part?

[Park Won-seok]
That kind of fraudulent election theory has been proven by the prosecution or the court, as suspicions have been raised and accusations have been filed several times. Therefore, President Yoon raises such suspicion of election fraud, but there is no basis in the letter. There is a suspicion, but it covers all of this. The anti-state forces of the Republic of Korea. The anti-state forces are in the NEC, in the opposition, in the prosecution, the police, and in the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. So at this point, I think it's worth arguing and refuting because it's not a story that can be refuted, but a kind of a story that's similar to one's religious beliefs. The problem is that if the chief executive declared emergency martial law based on such conspiracy theories and caused a civil war, the Republic of Korea would have been in danger, and the ruling party is not able to make a position on this. I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm avoiding this. The reason is that from the ruling party's point of view, if the fraudulent election conspiracy theory is brought into the ruling party to a level recognized by President Yoon, it is now questionable as a public party. Therefore, it is evident in the ruling party that they are trying to distance themselves from that letter.

[Anchor]
Anyway, the arrest warrant was executed today, and if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit requests and issues an arrest warrant, isn't there a 20-day investigation period? There's an investigation period, and you've decided to split it half and half with the prosecution, right?

[Park Won-seok]
In the first place, it seems that an agreement was reached in advance with the prosecution while exercising the right to transfer the case by transferring the case to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. After securing recruits through arrest warrants for 10 days, 20 days until prosecution.

[Anchor]
The prosecution has to prosecute.

[Park Won-seok]
That's right. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has no power to prosecute. So, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will investigate for 10 days, hand it over to the prosecution for 10 days, and finally prosecute it. In the entire process, I think there is a very high possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will exercise his right to refuse to make a statement, and then at the prosecution or the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, he denied all the evidence ability in the suspect's interrogation report and went to trial, went to the trial, investigated the evidence again, and talked about his position again.

[Anchor]
Even if the arrest warrant was issued on the 10th or 20th, you wouldn't say anything during that period?

[Park Won-seok]
I think that's President Yoon's strategy. So I will fight openly at the hearing. Therefore, it seems difficult to get meaningful statements from President Yoon, whether the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit conducts an investigation or the prosecution conducts an investigation.

[Anchor]
What kind of strategy do you expect President Yoon Suk Yeol to have in this regard?

[Choi Soo-young]
That's the strategy. So, President Yoon will fight in court on the judicial track. Then, the Constitutional Court hearing will attend in person and justify the contents of the handwriting I mentioned earlier with oral statements. So it's two tracks. So, from the president's point of view, the lawyers should indict us in advance this time. So in fact, in our criminal law system, prosecution without detention is a principle. Perhaps it's because we've seen too many arrests and indictments without detention, so the president also wants to be respected as a human right. Nevertheless, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is in the process of confirming the facts through an arrest warrant and then handing it over to the trial, so the arrest warrant collided. In any case, the president's strategy and the lawyers' strategy are very consistent, and then the strategies for this are very clear, so one track of this investigation should be organized first. Because the problem of the president's whereabouts must be sorted out to some extent so that the president can go out and explain the rest of the day at the Constitutional Court hearing, right? So, if one track of the investigation is first organized about the president's whereabouts, the president will probably actively plead in the Constitutional Court. In that respect, it is difficult to predict what will happen before the Lunar New Year because it is difficult to predict the presidential recruitment issue to some extent now.If it is after the Lunar New Year's Day, the president will actively defend the Constitutional Court hearing and lead it, including public opinion. In that sense, the investigation will now be conducted by the prosecution, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and an agreed-upon organization called the Joint Investigation Headquarters. Then, how well will the statements of those involved, including the ability to collect evidence in detail, be put to trial? I am reinforcing myself by receiving some meaningful statement from the President. This story doesn't seem easy at the moment, so I think that's probably the strategy of the joint investigation headquarters how to plan the trial strategy and how to plan the prosecution strategy in the future.

[Anchor]
In fact, the impeachment trial has a fixed period of 180 days, and since it is a matter of dispute over the status of former or incumbent, I expect that the impeachment trial will focus more on it. Meanwhile, about 30 ruling party lawmakers gathered in front of the residence today. There are fewer people than last time.

[Park Won-seok]
That's right. It was very early in the morning today, and is it desirable for ruling party lawmakers to go to their official residence and say that they will block the execution of arrest warrants? There are criticisms inside and outside the party, and the number seems to have been lower than then due to the comprehensive reflection of that. However, how will the public see these senior officials, whether Kim Ki-hyun or Na Kyung-won, go and claim that the execution of warrants by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is illegal? I think it's very concerning.

[Anchor]
Rep. Na Kyung-won said that the national character of the Republic of Korea has declined today.

[Park Won-seok]
Many people say that, but from the beginning, emergency martial law, civil war, and refusal to comply with the law enforcement will undermine our national dignity, and resolving this situation in a short period of time will help us restore our national dignity. Anyway, it is very possible for me to stand by the emergency martial law, oppose impeachment, and defend the execution of arrest warrants, and show signs of being in line with President Yoon when impeachment is cited and he goes to the early presidential election. What message can the ruling party tell the people in the presidential election? After all, the ruling party should play a certain role in normalizing state affairs and restoring our democracy by arranging the relationship with President Yoon at a distance from him. If we continue to show the same appearance as now, I think we will eventually be evaluated by the people as the same political force as President Yoon.

[Anchor]
Don't ruling party members know that?

[Park Won-seok]
Okay. I know, but since the supporters in front of me look bigger right now, I think they will respond to the public opinion first, but over time, I think the reaction of the ruling party like that will be different.

[Anchor]
Still, in the power of the people, the national character collapsed rather than disgracing the president. There were also a lot of harsh comments like this.

[Choi Soo-young]
I think I should split the response into two branches. So the execution of an arrest warrant for the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. In fact, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, which does not have the right to investigate rebellion, executed an arrest warrant by forcibly obtaining a warrant through a detour, so I will hold you accountable for this, even until the end. I think I'll have to wait and see because the party takes responsibility as a willingness to hold political responsibility in some way when the issue is over when it is restored to normal later. Anyway, apart from the level of protection against the president, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit's brutal execution of warrants and unreasonable execution of warrants. And in fact, I think the members of the People's Power are speaking out consistently, unlike the way they pushed for the president's arrest warrant to the end separately from the president's summons. But apart from that, the president has now entered the realm of justice. It has become difficult for politicians to really let go of the president who has entered the realm of justice. And in this area, the power of the people should also be strategically and carefully distanced. If not, you have to speak out very carefully because it can be seen as an impact on the judicial sector or pressure from the political sector.
In that respect, I said that I would hold the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit accountable, and then the Democratic Party and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit joined forces to attack the so-called collusion between political circles and investigative agencies. I think this will continue in the future, but I think I'll probably be reticent about the investigation of President Yoon Suk Yeol and this. In that respect, it is difficult for the party to come out as an official organization in that respect because there could be a situation where an early presidential election could come, but it is not strategically appropriate to continue to insist on integrating with President Yoon too much or go deeper, so I think there is a possibility that we will probably keep distance or strategic stability at an appropriate level.

[Anchor]
Before the two of you go, I think I need to ask you one last thing because it's a pending issue tomorrow. The ruling party said it would propose a proposal named the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act and the Martial Law Special Prosecutor Act, but it seems that they have not yet proposed it. Isn't it the Democratic Party's position to handle the plenary session tomorrow? How will this work?

[Park Won-seok]
The Democratic Party's position so far seems to have some room. Since the ruling party has yet to draft and submit a bill, draft and submit a bill. So let's look at the submitted legislation and see if this is open to compromise or consultation.
But I think I have this inner heart. However, because there is a strong and strong argument within the Democratic Party of Korea, it is trying to take time without paying like that, so why wait for that? Let's take care of it tomorrow. There are some opinions that they will exercise their veto anyway and go through the re-examination process. However, since President Yoon has been arrested, the sooner the independent counsel law is passed, the better, but I have more room than then. Therefore, I hope that the Democratic Party of Korea will wait a little while to get the bill from the ruling party and try to negotiate and pass the agreement. That's what I think.

[Choi Soo-young]
I'm talking about the same thing. In my opinion, President Yoon has been arrested anyway. It's infuriating internally. And the president produced by his party is now being held in a detention center after an arrest warrant was executed. In this situation, it would be rather counterproductive if you keep forcing or putting pressure on why you guys don't submit the special prosecution bill quickly. And now the investigation is underway again. He's been extradited. That's why there was a justification for the special prosecutor when the investigation was not possible, but isn't the special prosecutor now in order for us to look into the actual truth more specifically? Then you don't have to speed up like this. The 16th is due. If the people's power doesn't come in, we think it's insincere and we'll take it on our own. That's the defeat of the Democratic Party. Therefore, even if we wait a little, we should come up with a compromise and discuss the foreign exchange crime in question, and the ruling and opposition parties should agree on a special prosecution law. In that sense, I think it is necessary at this point to delay the Democratic Party of Korea's pressure on it and get it from the people's power until next week.

[Anchor]
I'll stop listening to you two. Choi Soo-young, a political critic, and Park Won-seok, a former lawmaker of the Justice Party. Thank you.