[News UP] "Arrest" Yoon is detained in Seoul Detention Center...Constitutional Court's 'No Attendance'

■ Host: anchor Yoon Jae-hee
■ Starring: Lee Chang-geun, chairman of the party's cooperation committee, Lee Dong-hak, former member of the supreme council of the Democratic Party of Korea

* 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]
Let's continue to go into detail about it. We will join Lee Chang-geun, chairman of the party's cooperation committee, and Lee Dong-hak, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea's Supreme Council. Please come in. President Yoon Suk Yeol spent his first night in the Seoul Detention Center. We will be investigated again at 2 p.m. President Yoon Suk Yeol's position is that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit notified the investigation in the morning and asked to postpone it for health reasons. Have you ever heard about your condition?

[Changgeun Lee]
I've checked various routes. Isn't it that you couldn't sleep the day before? So you must be tired. And yesterday, I was investigated for about 10 hours and 40 minutes. The general public also included more than 10 hours of rest and meal time, but it is true that the general public is also exhausted and tired if they are investigated to that extent.

It may be because of such fatigue because I was tired the day before and accumulated in the meantime, but I wonder if there is a big health problem. Because I made sandwiches even when I couldn't sleep the day before. However, the fact that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit accepted the president's request can be seen as a courtesy to the incumbent president. On the other hand, I think it's the president's lawyer's own strategy.

It was expected the day before, but didn't you exercise your right to remain silent? And I said that the investigation was illegal, and the president continued to speak out because the arrest was illegal again. Then, all of a sudden, he makes an arrest suit. The media said that President Yoon was in voluntary attendance, but in fact, most of the media made it a fait accompli due to arrest, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was also arrested, right?

So a change in that. So, by requesting an arrest suit, he announced that the arrest was unfair, and if you look at it in connection with the Constitutional Court's ruling, the date of the Constitutional Court's argument was postponed. The story probably exercised the right to remain silent during the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but there were many questionnaires. The lawyer who attended while looking at the question may have his or her own strategy. In the process, I think it can be seen as a revision of the strategy that I will make such an active argument through the public debate of the Constitution through public opinion.

[Anchor]
How do you see it? From the point of view of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, in fact, there are only 48 hours, so how about giving up investigating in the morning and doing it in the afternoon?

[Mobility]
In the case of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, I've already asked you something to ask, but you're not answering, right? The basis is fixed. There are already a lot of testimonies and evidence, so I think I'll be arrested and prosecuted. Then, in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, I can only say two things that I think are good not to say. If you open your mouth, one thing is to tell the truth.

Then you admit all the evidence or testimony. But since he's been lying a lot, I don't expect him to tell the truth at all. That's why the second option is to lie after all. Then you'll get a lot of resentment in the process of lying. Then, we will go to a very embarrassing situation due to the points that don't match each other's testimony, but I think we decided not to open our mouths. Nevertheless, anyway, since the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has already predicted such attitudes and such things, I think arrest and prosecution are inevitable.

[Anchor]
I think the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit provided the maximum courtesy throughout the investigation yesterday. He also used the president as his name. You saw it on the screen before moving to the detention center.Ma used a presidential security vehicle. How did you like it?

[Mobility]
In fact, I think that there is an accumulation of inappropriate cases. Isn't everyone equal before the law? But just because you're the president, you've done special treatment, sanctuary, and exceptions. Besides, I didn't usually commit a crime. Since it was almost an attempt to turn a democratic state into an autocratic state, at that point, it should have implemented the idea that all people are equal before the law, but at that point, I'm very disappointed.

Foreign media said this in the Guardian. Comparing the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol, he expressed that the rule of law still has the upper hand in the Republic of Korea. So I was very good at getting arrested anyway, but I say that there was something missing in the process.

[Changgeun Lee]
Of course, it is true that everyone should be equal before the law. However, even if you look at past cases or if you are not the president, you have given proper treatment to senior politicians regardless of the ruling and opposition parties. In addition, the duty of using a security vehicle without using a convoy has been suspended, but the incumbent president is correct. And an official from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit boarded the security vehicle together. Therefore, such courtesy has existed in the past, regardless of ruling and opposition parties. That is why it is not an unreasonable part. I'll tell you that much.

[Anchor]
Yesterday, just before the execution of the warrant, the video of President Yoon's public statement was released. There was a mention that the laws of this country all collapsed, and he emphasized that he was present to prevent bloodshed, but he did not admit the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. How did you enjoy the video?

[Changgeun Lee]
In fact, there are voices within the party that say it is a continuous illegal investigation with the president, that arrest is unfair, and others say that now that all of this has ended with the execution of arrest warrants, let's leave it to the Constitutional Court and the court and move on for the people's livelihood. Personally, I can't get rid of the regret that the president's last remarks and these videos are very insufficient.

And it's not that we didn't have time to execute these arrest warrants. I wonder if I could have achieved the intended purpose of being faithful to the investigation while being treated with respect as a president if I had responded to the prosecution's summons twice and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit's summons three times. And even before the second arrest warrant was issued, I had time on January 6th.

And on January 14, even before the arrest warrant was executed, Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok made his own proposal. But the president's lawyer refused. As a result, the consistent content that the president's lawyer has claimed so far was illegal investigations, illegal arrest warrants, and that came out as the president's voice. In fact, I personally think that the message I want the president to send yesterday is this.

As you said, the Republic of Korea is a rule of law by law and constitution. No matter how illegal an investigation or an illegal arrest warrant your thoughts are, the first message is to the people, but now that I have come to this situation, I will proudly respond to the trial. And I wonder what it would have been like for the people to send this message, saying that they would respond to the investigation, saying, "Don't split up anymore, integrate."

The second message is, "If you really think of the party, I will be investigated and put to trial with confidence, so Chairman Lee Jae-myung should also go to trial with confidence." I think it would have been nice if you had sent this message, saying, "Don't do anything to reign over such laws that delay the trial anymore," and finally, the party is not really the people who should fight, right? It is the opposition party and representative Lee Jae-myung that the people must fight for. If so, it is regrettable that the power of the people left me proudly and asked me to overcome myself and confront the opposition party with policies for the sake of people's livelihood.

[Anchor]
Even in the president's message yesterday, the lawyer did not use the word "arrest." They use expressions such as "attendance," "attendance," and "attendance."

[Anchor]
Just before his arrest, he reportedly called some members of the People's Power into his official residence to talk, but in this situation, he said, "What would I do with an additional two-and-a-half-year term?" What did it mean?

[Changgeun Lee]
That's what they said. So, there was an evaluation that everything was put down, but there was also a request that the government be re-created. Of course, it is also necessary to have a brief conversation and a meeting with the visiting lawmakers. However, as I said earlier, if the president wanted to ask the members of our people's power, he would have put himself down a little more and presented guidelines for the party to really move toward the people and toward unity.

Defending yourself is, of course, for your own right to defend yourself, but the president maintains the presidency of the Republic of Korea, and he was a symbol of our party, wasn't he? If so, rather than such an appearance, I will go to the investigation with confidence as a president, so I have a regret that the party should send such a message to overcome me and move toward the people in order to reinvent the government. Even now, I hope that the president will confidently investigate the investigation and show a more resolute attitude so that the power of the people can fight against Lee Jae-myung and the opposition party.

[Anchor]
He asked for the re-creation of the government, and he also mentioned that the party's approval rating is rising.

[Mobility]
I think it's the Shin Chang-won effect. In the past, Shin Chang-won was very famous as a prison escape. His T-shirt was sold out. His popularity went up a lot. But you're not getting caught? It has nothing to do with popularity. Furthermore, since President Yoon Suk Yeol has now resigned without serving half his term, it is a personal interpretation that the public is conducting such a poll in anticipation of a situation other than a Yoon Suk Yeol when they respond to the poll. There's something I'm very disappointed about.

When President Yoon Suk Yeol was in politics, he was not beholden to anyone and re-created the government by entering into the power of the people, who were almost ruined. I didn't owe you anything, so I didn't even have to take care of someone on purpose and make a strange trip. As the president of the Republic of Korea, if I had talked to the opposition party and done something while thinking only about the future of the Republic of Korea and throwing a constitutional amendment, not martial law, which is necessary for the future, I would have become a president that will go down in history.

However, he couldn't open the road, and he seems to have reduced his position as he entered the world view of a kind of far-right YouTuber. And it is true that the ruling party supports its own policies, but you don't have to listen to everything you say. But the ruling party also said that the president goes wrong when he goes wrong.

That's why they're sinking together. Expectations for the people will be very difficult in the future. And we need to change our posture quickly, but we don't even give room for it. In this case, we will martial law again in the future elections, we will make a democracy a dictatorship, and we may have to come up with these slogans. I don't understand how to do this now, but I think the president should change his posture now to open the way for the party to go properly.

[Anchor]
The investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is illegal. Therefore, the president's consistent argument is that the warrant is also invalid. So I filed an arrest suit yesterday, but he did it in the Seoul Central District Court.

[Changgeun Lee]
You have to look at that part like this. Didn't you actually claim to be a voluntary attendance, as I said earlier. So I didn't request an arrest suit, but in fact, it was no longer accepted, and an arrest warrant was issued and executed, right? Then, since voluntary attendance was not accepted, it should be said that he requested an arrest suit to protest that it was an illegal arrest. However, the reason for doing it to the Central District Court is that.

According to Article 26 of the Corruption Investigations Unit Act, the Corruption Investigations Unit does not have the right to prosecute the president, that is, the right to prosecute. When prosecuting, you have to transfer all the data to the Central District Prosecutors' Office and do it at the Central District Prosecutors' Office. Next, the Central District Court has the jurisdiction of the Central District Prosecutors' Office. That's why, of course, the request for an arrest suit was filed with the Central District Court accordingly. However, based on this opportunity, there is something that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit should reflect on.

And there are also areas where the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit Act is insufficient. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit did not give a proper explanation, but requested an arrest warrant to the Western District Court under the Criminal Procedure Act. Article 31 of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit Act allows prosecution to the Central District Court and prosecution to the competent district court only for the place of occurrence or address of the case in the provisions of the clue.

But there is no right to prosecute the president. However, it is also the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit that acted to mislead such controversy. If so, based on this opportunity, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit should reflect on itself, and if there is a lack of Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit Act, I think there are some areas that need to be supplemented. So, although the controversy was ended because the judiciary rejected such an objection to the president's unfair warrant request, it is right to reflect on what the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit should reflect on.

[Anchor]
What do you think about this?

[Mobility]
Well, I think what the president is putting in the Central District Court right now is just a kind of performance. There's no way they'll listen there. And you were a prosecutor all your life, weren't you? I've been a prosecutor for more than 20 years, but I'm completely ignoring the discretionary actions of the prosecutors now.

In this process, it was revealed that I was trying to arrest and torture the investigators or the incumbent judge during this martial law process, and I was trying to catch the Supreme Court justice. Therefore, the public resentment in this process will be much greater because the judiciary and investigative agencies are acting on their own to destroy the trust of these things. So, I think there will be more so-called wickedness.

If the president continues to ignore investigative agencies or judicial institutions until the end, can the public power of the Republic of Korea retreat from here? No way. Of course, you have to fight back more in principle and actually show law enforcement to the end so that these things don't happen again, and if you just sit by and watch the behavior of ignoring law enforcement continues to happen from criminals, what will happen to the rule of law in that country? Even in that sense, I think that we should set an example this time by clarifying law enforcement and things like this.

[Changgeun Lee]
If I point out one thing, I respect the judgment of the judiciary anyway. And of course, you have to respect that part so that the rule of law of the Republic of Korea is alive. However, due to the actions committed by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, arrest warrants or arrest warrants are carried out in the Western District Court, but if the central prosecutor who actually has the right to prosecute is arrested and prosecuted without detention, it becomes the jurisdiction of the central court. If that happens, it should be pointed out that the two courts eventually created a situation that was not ironically a conflict, but a conflict.

[Anchor]
Today, there is also the second hearing date for President Yoon's impeachment trial, but he is unable to attend. However, I asked for a postponement, but the Constitutional Court's position seems to be that it plans to proceed normally anyway. What do you think?

[Changgeun Lee]
The Constitutional Court probably notified the hearing date in advance to quickly resolve this national turmoil, and I think that's probably the position. Even if the president is under investigation due to an arrest warrant issued by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, if he is present, he can attend under the understanding of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. However, from the president's point of view, the investigation should be postponed to 2 p.m. He gave reasons for his health and will actively participate in the Constitutional Court's argument.

If the president really showed his willingness to attend in such a situation, the Constitutional Court can hold this hearing without the president, but I wonder if it is necessary to push ahead like that. However, I think it is not necessary to force the Constitutional Court to guarantee more defense rights against the president and to get legitimacy and public consent from the Constitutional Court.

However, if the Constitutional Court pushes ahead with the hearing date as it is, the president will probably have another backlash. So, in order not to even give such an excuse, the Constitutional Court also has a meeting of judges this morning, so I think it would be better for you to review the meeting more carefully. [Anchor] He's been arrested, but if he pushes ahead, I think there will be a controversy over his right to defend himself.

[Mobility]
However, in order for that to be a justification, President Yoon Suk Yeol should have complied with the Constitutional Court's request. But didn't you even get the mail right? Has such a thing accumulated so much that he is really poised and poised for trial? It's all going to be a puzzle when you look here. It didn't even come out on the first anniversary, right?

They said it was coming out, but it didn't come out either. You've completely teased the public, but now you want me to believe your true feelings? Now that I've lied so many times, there's no one to believe that anymore. The person who believes in it is naive. Therefore, the trial is bound to proceed quickly, and even now, I think that it is constantly wrong, illegal, and that I can be respected for my actions after lying down like this.

Of course, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has the right to secure recruits for going to the Constitutional Court, so there is no need to release them, and the investigation should proceed according to the investigation. The Constitutional Court also believes that the proceedings should be carried out according to the Constitutional Court's deadline.

[Anchor]
The People's Power filed a complaint against the head of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the head of the National Noodles Division yesterday. The emergency committee is convened this morning as well, so what specific discussions do you think will be held?

[Changgeun Lee]
Today, the main agenda will be to draw conclusions and propose on the constitutional law of the people's power itself. However, my personal opinion is that in this situation, I wonder if the martial law independent counsel law can be reached smoothly between the ruling and opposition parties. Of course, the opposition party has expressed its willingness to force Park Chan-dae to pass the martial law special prosecution law again, saying, "We cannot delay it anymore," and on the other hand, it intends to discuss the bill when the ruling party comes up with it.

However, there is a very dangerous element of the bills put forward by the opposition party. That's what the foreign exchange crime was about. That's a very dangerous idea because the special prosecutor included all the things that have been carried out as part of the policy, such as the loudspeaker for North Korea, overseas dispatch, and the spraying of leaflets against North Korea.

If we continue to enforce this, will there be an agreement? And now, President Yoon Suk Yeol has already issued an arrest warrant, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has an arrest warrant deadline of 10:33 a.m. tomorrow. And it is the consistent position of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit to request an arrest warrant, but if an arrest warrant is requested and takes effect, it is time for the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the police.

And most of the people related to martial law, called civil war, have already been arrested and handed over to trial. In this situation, the prosecution will now take over the investigation into President Yoon, for prosecution. However, even though the controversy over the independent counsel law caused another national confusion and the opposition party cleared all the claims of the ruling party, I wonder if it is right to include the most important part related to Korea's North Korea policy in the independent counsel law. So if the opposition party is really insincere, it creates more confusion if it does so as if it were risking its life on the martial law special prosecution law. However, I think it's better to leave it to the prosecution because it's time for the prosecution.

[Anchor]
The Democratic Party of Korea said it would discuss the bill if the ruling party came up with it, but the opposition party announced that it would deal with the re-issuance independent counsel law today. How do I look at this?

[Mobility]
So, the ruling party is not showing its sincerity at all. And you can see a strategy that seems to keep delaying and dragging your feet. That's why it's the Democratic Party's position not to fall for such a strategy. In particular, when they make a proposal and submit it to the National Assembly, they can talk to each other with it, and moving like some evaluation team that continues to evaluate the other's bill without relief is not sincere in itself.

This is because we think that this is also linked to martial law. Because it is related to martial law in the process of calling out numerous generals in the National Assembly to investigate. Acts to induce North Korea's provocations, that is, to create a quasi-state of war, so isn't it a state of national emergency because it's a quasi-state of war, and to use it as a vaporization to conduct martial law, are linked.

In particular, after Minister Kim Yong-hyun was appointed, Korea sends a lot of leaflets after September. Spray propaganda leaflets against North Korea. I spend 20 episodes. However, North Korea only sent it nine times at the same time. There are all circumstances in which they tried to cause a disturbance by making North Korea more angry than North Korea, and in November 2023, the September 19 military agreement was completely destroyed.

With that agreement, we can't start a war, so we've been connected like this all the time after we've cleared all the things that are holding us back. Therefore, I believe that the investigation should be carried out at this point, but if the people's power is drained in relation to this foreign exchange problem, I will make it. I think we can still talk. I think we can proceed except for that.

Because even these parts have been testified by generals in the course of the investigation, I believe that the door to dialogue can be opened in the end because I think that the investigation can be conducted in the course of the investigation, but I think it is difficult for me to talk about things like this no matter how much I talk about it without the proposal itself.

[Anchor]
The ruling party says it will only negotiate, but in reality, it seems that they are complaining about the one-sided handling of the opposition special prosecution law.

[Changgeun Lee]
Of course. Because there are two main things that the Democratic Party is making errors right now. Hasn't the parliamentary investigation just taken effect? So, the parliamentary investigation is underway, and in the process, numerous state secrets are leaked and how they are spreading. However, lawmakers are obliged to comply with confidentiality under the National Assembly Act and their duty to maintain dignity.

However, countless military secrets are being circulated through parliamentary investigations. However, as you said in the Special Prosecutor Act, it can be seen as a north wind maneuver to induce the NLL to attack North Korea. Beyond that, we don't know how much military and state secrets will be circulated through the investigation process if we include everything related to North Korea policy and Korea's overseas dispatch.

The DP has already shown too many such errors through the parliamentary probe, so why include all such parts under the pretext of the special prosecution law? Who can agree? Then the Democrats shouldn't have included this in the first place. And North Korea is not yet a foreign country under the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Korea. If even the law recognizes the basic facts, it certainly should not have proposed such a controversial independent counsel law, which includes North Korea policy, including the work of the north wind and the rest, and the foreign policy of our country.

[Anchor]
Let's take a brief look at the Democratic Party situation. The appeals court of the Democratic Party's representative Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act has announced a plan to speed up the representative Lee's case. I said I wouldn't take on a new case for two months. What do you think?

[Mobility]
There is no way not to comply with the judiciary's decision. I can criticize it. There's no way not to comply. Inevitably, this trial is going by. CEO Lee Jae-myung has no choice but to continue to respond accordingly. Is there any other strategy for this? I have no choice but to act faithfully, especially regarding election law, and I think there could be a completely different and completely 180-degree different judgment in the appeal trial. Because the interwoven thing itself is a very relative concept. It's not an absolute concept. Did you know or didn't you know? And did you receive the threat or not? Because it is a relative concept, I think that even in the appeals court, if I make a reasonable judgment, I may come out as innocent.

[Anchor]
Since he was sentenced to invalidation of the election in the first trial, it seems to be a trial that Lee is very concerned about. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether the trial can be completed within the period stipulated by the election law.

[Changgeun Lee]
I think it must be done. In fact, representative Lee Jae-myung's behavior has already shown representative Lee Jae-myung's strategy in the second trial of the election law and the fact that he did not appoint a lawyer to the high court. The Democratic Party should also be aware of this situation. I want to ask if the Democratic Party deserves to talk about people's livelihoods and enjoy this situation.

So they say they will follow what the court has decided, but if so, they should appoint a lawyer with confidence. Therefore, another trial strategy, such as presenting countless witnesses, requesting data, and verifying, should be minimized. If they stand up for trial, the Democratic Party will be able to justify its accusation of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

[Anchor]
I see. I'll stop listening to you two. Lee Chang-geun, chairman of the party's cooperation committee, joined Hanam, the power of the people, and Lee Dong-hak, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Thank you both for your comments.