■ Host: anchor Lee Se-na, anchor Na Kyung-chul
■ Starring: Jang Young-soo, professor of law at Korea University Law School, 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 News Special] when quoting.
[Anchor]
Today is the third day since Yoon Suk Yeol's president was arrested as a sitting president. I am staying inside the Seoul Detention Center without responding to the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. It is known that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is planning to seek an arrest warrant for President Yoon soon. Today, we are joined by Jang Young-soo, a professor of law at Korea University, and Yang Ji-min, a lawyer. Please come in.
[Anchor]
President Yoon celebrated his second day at the Seoul Detention Center. Since they are not showing up at all, many people are curious about where they are spending their time. First, let's look at President Yoon's situation. I just met the morning of the second day at the Seoul Detention Center, and it was reported that I was living in a suit.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. In general, President Yoon Suk Yeol's status is under arrest and not yet under arrest and imprisonment, so you can think of him as using a solitary cell, a space to wait for arrest before arrest. If you are arrested in a space of about 3 pyeong, you can wear your own clothes because you have to sleep and eat there, but there are also clothes provided. However, since what President Yoon is claiming now is denying the pre-arrest process and saying it is illegal, there may be room for antipathy against wearing this dress as president and following the instructions of the detention facility, but as a consistent act of his actions, I will not comply with this illegal procedure. Therefore, he was seen wearing his clothes and suits that he usually wore and entering the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but he is said to be wearing the same clothes and living now.
[Anchor]
So, the current situation seems to be denying everything, but in case you don't know, CCTV is running 24 hours a day. What kind of situation can we assume if you don't know?
[Jimin Yang]
In general, detention centers, or correctional institutions, monitor inmates like this, but there are also aspects that assume that the inmate acts and runs out of them. However, there are various possibilities such as the risk of self-harm and the possibility of collapsing due to poor health. In that respect, it is practically difficult for a person to stand in front of the door and keep monitoring, so think of it as checking CCTV 24 hours a day to see if something is happening to the president.
[Anchor]
Professor, didn't President Yoon ask the Seoul Central District Court to re-judge the legality of the arrest? This was dismissed yesterday, and more attention is being paid to it because it was a judgment made by the Seoul Central District Court. What did you say was the basis for the judgment?
[Jang Young-soo]
In the end, issuing an arrest warrant did not comply with three summonses, which means issuing an arrest warrant because it requires compulsory summons, and there is nothing wrong with it. Another thing is that if, in the current situation, the arrest warrant was issued by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit without investigative power, as President Yoon says, and the issuance of the warrant went to the Western District Court, which was illegal because of it, it would have had a very serious ripple effect that would have overturned the entire political situation. It would have been very difficult for the Central District Court to admit this without any certainty, it seems so.
[Anchor]
Yesterday, there was also a possibility that President Yoon would attend the arrest suit in person, so we continued to show him the detention center during our news session yesterday. However, President Yoon did not attend in person.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. The lawyer said that since he is an incumbent president, he should be protected by the security service. As you may have seen, some of the security vehicles came before the president moved to the security office and inspected the facilities and checked the surrounding areas. However, the hearing on the arresting pride was caught very quickly. And even in terms of distance, it can be seen that it is a little more than the distance between the official residence and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, or even though the distance is actually close, the court's control of personnel was not carried out in advance.
Therefore, it seems that the position was finally decided that the party would not be present by comprehensively considering such aspects that may cause problems in security. Instead, I think the problem of not attending has been resolved because lawyers who will represent their opinions from the perspective of the parties were present. However, there is a difference in the weight of the arrest warrant and the actual examination of the arrest warrant, and the president actively responded to the warrant examination, so many say that although the arrest warrant examination was not present, there is a high possibility that he will attend the warrant examination.
[Anchor]
It is said that three people each from President Yoon's side and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit had a fierce battle yesterday, so would the professor be able to organize both sides' arguments?
[Jang Young-soo]
First of all, the president's argument has continued. Eventually, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit did not have the right to investigate and the warrant was issued illegally, which is why the entire series of processes related to this arrest is illegal. He has not budged from this claim, and not from the side of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. It is a legally issued warrant and has been legally executed accordingly. That's natural, but the question is, hasn't the Central District Court also decided to dismiss this? And his acceptance of the rejection decision. In other words, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit would welcome the decision, but President Yoon's side will argue the issue until the end, not that they will no longer argue over it. In the future, whether it is a matter of investigative rights of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or issuing warrants in the Western District Court, I will continue to raise questions with confidence that this is illegal. That's what I did. This is where we can think of two things, and one thing we've already told you about the arrest itself.In addition, I will fight anything that can be said to be illegal on other issues. In other words, the lawyers of former President Park Geun Hye said that there was little legal debate, but this time it is not. He showed an attitude that he would argue with the law by considering the end, so I see it like this.
[Anchor]
In fact, the judgment of the Seoul Central District Court was noted yesterday because the president continued to raise questions about the court. Why do you file a warrant with the Western District Court? At first, I thought that the president's request for an arrest suit to the Central District Court was a trick, but in the end, some analysts say that this result is rather a defeat of the president's side. What do you think between the defeat and the defeat?
[Jang Young-soo]
I didn't do much to the Central District Court, but I didn't have much to lose here. That's what I think. In the first place, I think President Yoon's defense must have expected to some extent that it would be dismissed here. As I said earlier, if I quote here, it becomes a serious problem that will reverse the whole situation. Thousands of police to make these illegal arrests. They use more police than martial law forces to arrest the president. I'm in trouble. If this happens, the wavelength itself will be too big. Even if you don't expect to admit it to that point, at least you continue to raise the issue. Let's just cover this up and move on. I can never see anything like this. And it will continue to be a burden on President Yoon in the future, but it seems to be a situation that also puts a burden on the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit.
[Anchor]
Politicians are also continuing to debate the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Let's listen to the voices of the political community for a moment and continue talking.
[Anchor]
With the judgment of the Seoul Central District Court, the controversy over the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has ended, can we see it like this?
[Jimin Yang]
First of all, it is difficult for President Yoon's lawyers to continue to raise this jurisdiction controversy. So, as you have explained so far, why do you request an arrest warrant from the Western District Court, not the Central District Court, which should be viewed as exclusive jurisdiction over the case of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, was very big, and I actually filed an objection after the first warrant was issued. Nevertheless, those objections were rejected. So in fact, in a way, the Western District Court confirmed three times that there was no problem with jurisdiction. Nevertheless, since the Western District Court was the subject of such a judgment, President Yoon Suk Yeol could not admit it, so there is no provision that an arrest warrant must be filed with the court where the arrest warrant was issued. Nevertheless, the Central District Court decided that there was no reason to discuss the issuance of these first and second warrants in any legal defects or arrest suit, so it is appropriate to say that the jurisdiction and the investigative rights issue, which have been raised along with it, are being settled to some extent.
[Anchor]
The lawyer said that it's over. What do you think, professor? The Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant yesterday, and some say that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is likely to request the Western District Court for its own consistency. If so, the president will not be able to raise questions about the jurisdiction issue. Because it was rejected yesterday, what do you think about this?
[Jang Young-soo]
I'm a little different. First of all, the question is whether the central or western law is not judged by the central law. In other words, it has the requirement to issue an arrest warrant. So the arrest warrant itself is legal. I was just talking about this. And there have been various controversies over this arrest warrant, but there have been many criticisms about the issue of putting Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act, so haven't they been removed from the second warrant? In the end, there is still room for individual issues to be contested in such a way. I think so, and in particular, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has not fully explained why it is going to the Western District Court. As a result, various suspicions are being raised, and if even some of those suspicions are confirmed to be true, the issue can be reignited. So, it may be over for now on those points, but it's not completely over. I think so.
[Anchor]
The time was suspended while the arrest suit was in progress. So the deadline for the president's arrest will be delayed, right?
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. The warrant was executed at 10:33 a.m. on the 15th, so the airborne office secured 48 hours, and then there was originally a time limit for arrest at 10:33 a.m. on the 17th. However, as I requested an arrest suit, I sent the record to the court and the time I received it from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was omitted. So it would be right to assume that the arrest deadline will eventually increase and that the arrest deadline will expire around 9 p.m. on January 17th. If so, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will request an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol before the end of that time, waiting for its issuance, and if it is issued, it can also be called in under personal detention for investigation. That's why there's a story that it goes in the order of requesting an arrest warrant.
[Anchor]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit tried to investigate the president a little more before requesting an arrest warrant, but the president refused to re-investigate at 10 a.m. today and did not attend the investigation at 2 p.m. yesterday. Is there no problem with this part?
[Jimin Yang]
First of all, if you are a general suspect, there are parts where you can force a recruitment or force an inch. However, it would be practically difficult to force President Yoon to come out at a time when he said he would not come out as he is an incumbent president and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will be treated with the utmost respect. As a result, there is a very high possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will still exercise his right to remain silent even if he comes to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and starts the investigation again. Therefore, it seems that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is approaching it with the idea that we can buy more time if we wait a little while and request an arrest warrant rather than pushing through the demand.
[Anchor]
President Yoon has not responded to the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit since yesterday, and he also exercised his right to remain silent in the first investigation. There are also views that this attitude will affect the outcome in the future, what do you think?
[Jang Young-soo]
However, first of all, what we need to see here is the right to refuse to make a statement and the right to remain silent is a constitutional right guaranteed, and I will penalize you for exercising that right. This is not legally allowed. And what's more, the problem with that is, in fact, that in these multi-person crimes, it's common for the investigation of the chief executive to go to the final stage. Because first of all, he captured the evidence from the bottom, listened to the testimony, secured physical evidence, and then went when he exercised his right to remain silent, and other people testified like this below. Or refute that it's not. If we talk like this, it's against me if we stay like this. You can legally exercise the right to remain silent, but you have to make them judge that there is nothing in my favor. That's the basis of the investigation, and since the president ignores it and talks about it, this situation is happening and there is no way to break it at the moment, so in the end, the president in the detention center does not respond to the investigation, but the same thing will happen again and again, so I think it's not effective.
[Anchor]
So, exercising the right to remain silent is a guaranteed right, as you said, but there are definitely parts of respect for the president, but I will reject this presidential image, for example, suspects of other crimes. There is also a view that if it can be seen in such a way, it can be a bad precedent. What do you think about that?
[Jang Young-soo]
That part is that the right to remain silent is not specifically recognized by the president, but equally recognized by all citizens. In the end, what can be a problem here is that, even if you exercise your right to remain silent, you cannot escape. He should have been able to press with previously secured evidence, but he was not ready for an investigation after his arrest because he was only concerned with arresting the president immediately after omitting the procedure. I think this is a problem.
[Anchor]
And since today's arrest deadline for the president is 9:05 p.m., the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will request an arrest warrant before then, and if the warrant is requested, the warrant will be reviewed. Please explain how long it will take after the claim to proceed with the review and how the process will proceed.
[Jimin Yang]
In general, the hearing itself is decided very quickly because it is a matter of important personal restraint that determines restraint. So, just looking at the arrest suit, it is a matter of arguing over whether or not to arrest the incumbent president within a very short period of time, as if the hearing time and the deadline were designated, so it is expected that the case will be decided quickly because there is a possibility that the Western District Court or the Central District Court will try to put the case first. In general, President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers, including lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, and three others, including prosecutors from the Senior Prosecutor Cha Jung-hyun, have attended the arrest suit, so it seems highly likely that the same person will respond to the warrant review. First of all, it is a principle to interrogate the suspect in the actual examination of the arrest warrant, and in the case of arrested suspects, the interrogation must be conducted by the day after the warrant is requested. Therefore, it seems that there is a possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend in person. Of course, there are areas where the security issue must be resolved first, so if the court, the security agency, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are well coordinated, President Yoon Suk Yeol, who can be considered a party, can attend and express the injustice of his arrest or why he should not be arrested.
[Anchor]
Although there are many controversial points left, it is expected that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will seek an arrest warrant today, so how much do you expect the results to be?
[Jang Young-soo]
In fact, the key parts of the difference between arrest and arrest are not that they did not comply with the summons after all, but that they should focus on whether there is a fear of escape and destruction of evidence as a reason for arrest. However, in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, he is very well known in Korea, so he has no place to go. He has banned people from fleeing overseas. Then, he will be arrested for talking about his fear of running away? This is not right. The destruction of evidence has already been over a month since the incident, and most of the evidence to be destroyed has been destroyed. It's reasonable to look at it like this. If so, investigation, trial, or detention are the principles, but what other serious reasons should be specifically arrested? How does the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit claim this and persuade the judge in charge of the warrant? This seems to be the key, but I don't think it's going to be that big. In other words, the weight of arrest and detention is different, but the requirements are also different. In the case of arrest, it is a principle to say that this case should be done because he refused to comply with the summons three times, but I think arrest is different.
[Anchor]
Some said that the reason for the arrest would not be sufficient because the fear of escape and destruction of evidence is low, but some refused to make a statement in the first investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. And after that, he didn't respond at all. There was also a view that these points increased the possibility of arrest.
[Yang Jimin]
So, in general, it is difficult for President Yoon Suk Yeol to say that there is a fear of fleeing, but there is also a possibility that there is a fear of destroying evidence in this regard. That's why some say that President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend and did not respond to the execution of the arrest warrant, and these are considered to increase the possibility of issuing an arrest warrant. And as the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit says now, it is very difficult to summon and investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol from the detention center. However, according to the Public Information Service, even if the summons is not conducted sufficiently or additionally, there will be no problem in requesting an arrest warrant based on the statements of those involved or physical evidence. Therefore, considering that, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that a warrant request will probably be made today, and in the process, the issues addressed in the arrest suit will come and argue.
[Anchor]
Then after this, the court will decide. Either issue it or dismiss it. There will only be two cases, so it will be the first time in constitutional history that an incumbent president will be arrested if he is arrested, so what will happen to the president's future course?
[Jimin Yang]
If it is dismissed, time will pass because there is a high possibility that the arrest deadline will expire in itself. That's why we need to release him immediately and he'll probably be able to go to his official residence. However, if an arrest warrant is issued, there is a possibility that he will be investigated by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or the prosecution in the case of arrest. In the case of arrest, the prosecution has set a deadline of 20 days, so there is some agreement between the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the prosecution to investigate the president in 10 days. So, if it is issued, there is a possibility that it will be divided and investigated. However, another variable here is that even if he is arrested, he will not leave the Seoul Detention Center because he is an incumbent president. I've already told you everything, and there's a possibility that you'll say you won't respond to the investigation. If that happens, it is a situation in which personal detention has been practically carried out through arrest, but it may be impossible to investigate, such as drawing meaningful statements even though they have secured recruits.
[Anchor]
But since the deadline for the arrest of President Yoon is 9:05 p.m. tonight, if the investigation of the arrest warrant continues after that, where will the president stay in the meantime?
[Jimin Yang]
We usually wait at the Seoul Detention Center. In the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, he waits for a warrant to be issued after undergoing a substantive examination of an arrest warrant when he is arrested, but even ordinary citizens who have been free to attend the warrant examination and wait at the Seoul Detention Center, or in some cases, wait for the prosecution. So, depending on whether or not a warrant is issued while waiting, it is decided whether the person will be released or handed over to the detention center as it is.
[Anchor]
If you look at the situation on the president's side so far, legal action has continued to be taken in every part that the agency sees as an element of illegality, and most of them have not been accepted. Is that why the president's strategy is right now? People keep saying that we need to change this strategy, but what do you think about this part?
[Jang Young-soo]
That's what the president's lawyers will consider in their own way. However, personally, I have to look at it in three aspects first, but now President Yoon and Representative Lee Jae-myung are competing for time. This is a widely known fact, and it is unlikely that it will change its strategy in terms of the time fight as well. In the end, it would be difficult to say that I have no intention of dragging my feet while arguing over everything. And secondly, I'm not giving up easily towards my supporters. I said I'd fight until the end and I'm going to go with that. There's going to be something like this. And thirdly, there's something that you do with the idea that it's actually not very likely to be accepted, but some of it is really worth arguing about.
[Anchor]
I see. At this point, let's take a look at the situation around the Seoul Detention Center where the president is in custody. There are a lot of supporters gathered right now. Let's take a look at the on-site screen. I'm at the Seoul Detention Center right now. President Yoon's lawyer here. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is delivering his position here. On the left side, it seems that many reporters are gathering to convey the situation.
[Anchor]
We will continue to report on how lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is expressing his position here. In front of the detention center, as you just heard, you can continue to hear supporters rallying. Many citizens who support President Yoon are still gathering and holding a rally here. If you look at the lower left, it is known that lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is surrounded by reporters and is conveying his position.
[Anchor]
As soon as lawyer Seok Dong-hyun's position is reported, we will deliver another breaking news. This time, I will briefly share the situation of the National Assembly. Originally, the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik was scheduled to meet with the Democratic Party floor leader in the morning to negotiate on the emergency martial law special investigation law. This has been pushed to the afternoon. So, Kwon Sung-dong, the floor leader of the People's Power, and Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, negotiated, but it seems to have ended without results. Negotiations ended a little after 2 p.m., and the plenary session became mindful.
[Anchor]
Let's listen to it together. Let's take a look at the on-site screen. Floor leader Kwon Sung-dong is coming out now, and lawmaker Joo Jin-woo is also appearing next to him.
[Anchor]
This is not the current situation at this time, but it is a situation where the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties met after negotiating a little after 2 p.m. Let's listen to it.
[Kwonseongdong]
It was not a full-fledged discussion. It's over because of the plenary session.
[Anchor]
Following that, floor leader Park Chan-dae is also coming out. Let's hear what kind of position they're expressing.
[PARK CHANDAE]
The plenary session will be held at 2:15. After dealing with agendas other than the special prosecutor's office and adjourning them, negotiations will begin to reach an agreement between the public and the Democratic Party related to the special prosecutor law. So, I haven't submitted the bill that the people's power wants to submit yet, but I suggested the opinion again with the draft. We talked about the reasons for the proposed opinion and we talked about our position first. Based on what we talked about, we will proceed with the consultation within the adjournment period. First of all, this agenda, which starts at 2:15, will probably be over in a short time. And we can meet again right after the adjournment.
[Anchor]
The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties negotiated on the special prosecution law on emergency martial law, and Kwon Sung-dong, the floor leader, said he explained the ruling party's own special prosecution bill to the Democratic Party. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader, said that the ruling party proposed an opinion based on the draft and explained the first position in the opposition party.
[Anchor]
And now that the plenary session has begun, floor leader Park Chan-dae said that the ruling and opposition parties will negotiate after dealing with agendas other than the independent counsel for rebellion at the plenary session. The Democratic Party of Korea suggested an opinion on the draft brought from the ruling party, and the opposition party explained the first position. And he expressed his position that he would agree within the adjournment period.
[Anchor]
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea declared that the special prosecution for rebellion is essential for concluding serious crimes that violate the constitutional order and democracy, and that it will be dealt with by the end of the day. As soon as it comes in, I'll give you a breaking news.
[Anchor]
And we were talking continuously, and President Yoon filed a complaint with the prosecution against Senior Superintendent of Public Offenses Oh Dong-woon and Senior Superintendent of the National Noodles Headquarters Woo Jong-soo. What charges did you file?
[Yang Ji-min]
President Yoon's side, Oh Dong-woon, head of the Airborne Division, and Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Police Agency, conducted and collected military secrets and leaked them. And he also forged official documents. He also raised the issue of trying to commit illegal arrest and imprisonment. To explain this, it seems that they are strongly raising the issue now regarding the forgery of such official documents that were stamped with the 55th Guard Corps, which was in question in the first place. And since Yoon Suk Yeol's side initially had military secrets about all the facilities within its official residence or doorway, entering this part itself was an attempt to detect or collect military secrets, and it actually extracted such information while communicating with some security personnel for arrest. I once said that this is a significant risk to military secrecy because it is based on such information and the strategy of arrest is gathered. That's why I'm saying I'll raise a problem and be judged on that part through a complaint. The reason why this was specified as a charge of rebellion is that the rebellion itself can be seen as an act of national constitutional controversy, but he filed a complaint with the prosecution on the grounds that illegally collecting military secrets and trying to make illegal arrests even by forging public documents is a national constitutional controversy.
[Anchor]
What do you think, professor? Regarding the controversy over official documents and President Yoon's accusation against the head of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the head of the National Noodles Division.
[Jang Young-soo]
You can see it in two ways. As I said earlier, everything that can be legally contested is contested. That's one, and the other is that it's difficult to take issue with all the things that actually went into arrest, but if it's true that the official documents were forged as they claimed, it could be a serious problem. You have to comb through these parts. At the same time, there was even a civil war to make the problem itself important, but I think it should be revealed because there seems to be a possibility of illegality, if not a civil war.
[Anchor]
And there was another meaningful part this morning, Kim Sung-hoon, deputy chief of the presidential office's security service, who was also classified as a hardliner within the security office, who was accused of interfering with the execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon, attended the police this morning. Let's take a look at this scene and talk about it.
[Anchor]
Deputy Director Kim Sung-hoon talked about various things while attending the police today. I did my fair security duties, I noticed the emphasis on this point, how did you see it?
[Jang Young-soo]
I think that makes sense. Because, for example, soldiers and police mobilized in martial law are considered quite similar to this case, but the security service is legally obligated to protect the president. And such a bodyguard gives up security? This is not a normal case in itself. And if this is a legitimate warrant, I don't know, but it is a warrant execution that is controversial about its legality. In this case, when some say it's legal and others say it's illegal, shouldn't it be difficult for the security agency to listen to the president and listen to the other side? I don't think this is completely wrong in that regard.
[Anchor]
After today's investigation, the police will secure Director Kim Sung-hoon's whereabouts, and he was arrested right away.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. First of all, there was a possibility that the warrant was issued, and in fact, there was a possibility of arrest together on the day of the second warrant execution, that is, the warrant execution against President Yoon. Nevertheless, the reason for delaying the deadline is that the security service for the incumbent president needs to be carried out and security needs to continue even when moving to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, so he seems to have just started arresting him because he did not want to execute the warrant. And even from a legal perspective, this is a warrant issued for investigation because the arrest was actually not present in the third round of subpoenas. However, anyway, even though the investigation was completed by the person in line, and the purpose was achieved, arresting after that could lead to another dispute over illegality. Therefore, it seems that he attended with his lawyer on the appointed date and executed the warrant right in front of it.
[Anchor]
As for Deputy Director Kim Sung-hoon, what do you think the police will focus on to conduct the investigation?
[Jimin Yang]
The charges you are receiving now are first obstruction of the execution of special public affairs. That's why they say that they did their job according to the security law of the security service on that day, and that they fulfilled their duties. It is also expected to examine whether such a scope of work has such a legitimate basis to prevent the execution of the warrant by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. On that day, we will focus on what orders were issued to prevent the execution of the warrant and what orders were issued to prevent the police or the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit from entering. It is said that there have been some physical fights, but the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit constitutes the law that prevents us from trying to execute a legitimate warrant, so it is expected to focus on what specific orders were issued accordingly.
[Anchor]
Now let's move on to the Constitutional Court. In the previous briefing, we designated and announced the 6th to 8th pleading dates, and we also talked about the date of witness examination. Professor, President Yoon asked the court to postpone the hearing date, but it was dismissed. What do you think about this part?
[Jang Young-soo]
For now, the Constitutional Court must make a decision quickly to end the chaos of state affairs as soon as possible. It is difficult to delay the decision by delaying the date of the judgment. It seems that they have this basic position. However, one thing we should be careful about here is that I don't think the judgment of such a Constitutional Court is wrong. But procedural fairness in the middle of the process. In the case of former President Roh Moo Hyun and former President Park Geun Hye, the confusion has ended as the people understand it through the decision of the Constitutional Court, which the people do not understand, whether this is an unfair trial, which could lead to greater confusion. Because of this, I fully understand what the Constitutional Court is trying to do quickly, but it should nevertheless remain fair and neutral and this should continue. I'd like to make that point.
[Anchor]
As you can see, the National Assembly summarized the reasons for impeachment at the Constitutional Court's hearing yesterday, and many stories are said to have been exchanged. Let's listen to some of the key remarks made by the Constitutional Court yesterday and talk about yesterday together.
[Anchor]
There were a lot of scenes about yesterday's hearing date, especially when the president's lawyer Bae Bo-yoon couldn't clearly answer. How did you see this scene now?
[Jang Young-soo]
First of all, the president's lawyers have not been able to fully review and discuss these issues with each other, so to speak, and since this is a very important part of the matter itself, it seems that we will sort out our position carefully, but this is probably the beginning, but it should not continue in the future.
[Anchor]
And the Constitutional Court adopted a request for witnesses for five people, including Hong Jang-won, former deputy director of the NIS, and Jo Ji-ho, the police chief. All of them are witnesses applied by the National Assembly, but in this way, they are high-ranking military and police officials related to emergency martial law.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. In the first place, the National Assembly expressed its opinion to apply for 15 witnesses, but in terms of the speed of the procedure and the inefficiency of calling all witnesses, the court applied for witnesses, and the Constitutional Court accepted and adopted this part. However, as you pointed out, what these five people have in common, such as former Deputy Chief Hong Jang-won and National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, was that I was instructed by President Yoon Suk Yeol to arrest someone on the phone at the time of the declaration of emergency martial law. These are the people who claim to have been ordered. Therefore, even if you look at the part that the National Assembly applied for witnesses like this, it can be interpreted as a way to prove to the Constitution that there was such a violation of the constitution that attempted to arrest lawmakers and some people at the time by sending an arrest team. And the Constitutional Court also adopted former Minister Kim Yong-hyun as a witness, but in the case of former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, he is not a witness requested by the National Assembly, but a witness requested by President Yoon. However, we have applied for witnesses for several people, but we have adopted only former Minister Kim Yong-hyun. We have said we will make a decision on the remaining number of people later.
[Anchor]
And as we showed you earlier through the Constitutional Court briefing, the Constitutional Court has set the schedule from 6th to 8th, that is, 8th, which was the previous 5th hearing day yesterday. In this regard, the president also showed a little bit of opposition, so we will listen to this and continue to talk.
[Anchor] As you heard
, isn't it too tightly woven using the expression that the lawyer is not a robot?
[Jang Young-soo]
That's right. It's not common to argue every two days.
[Anchor]
How did you hear this part? I strongly opposed it.
[Jang Young-soo]
In particular, it seems that the president's lawyers, who are not sufficient, have no choice but to protest. However, in this regard, I think the Constitutional Court is in a hurry because after deciding the fifth round, we can talk about the sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds around next week, not right now. And depending on the progress, you can go a little tighter, or you need to take a break here, but why are you rushing this too much? Rather, I think that if this causes a dispute over fairness, the damage is much greater than the benefit.
[Anchor]
The third hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on January 21st, and the Constitutional Court has adopted former Minister Kim Yong-hyun as a witness, followed by Kim Hyun-tae, the 707 special commander, as a witness. We don't have much time left, so let's talk about former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The trial was held for the first time yesterday, and in fact, there is a reason why I was very interested in this trial. Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun claimed that he had misrepresented the decree, which was recently controversial on the part of President Yoon, but he argued that it was contrary to this.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. President Yoon and former Minister Kim Yong-hyun now seem to be in conflict over whose opinion was the No. 1 decree. In the case of decree No. 1, it contained a ban on the activities of the National Assembly, local councils, and political parties, but President Yoon said that former Minister Kim Yong-hyun copied it incorrectly, but from former Minister Kim Yong-hyun's point of view, it is now argued that I drafted it, but the president, who is the final decision maker, reviewed it. So, of course, it seems necessary to examine the credibility of the statement, but if you look at the 1972 and 1980 proclamations, it is not exactly like the National Assembly and local councils, but it is just prohibited from political activities, so I think there is a process to examine the credibility of the claim because there is only an argument from both sides as to whether there is room for misinterpretation.
[Anchor]
I see. So far, we have pointed out legal issues with Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University's law school, and Yang Ji-min, a lawyer. Thank you.
※ 'Your report becomes news'
[Kakao Talk] YTN Search and Add Channel
[Phone] 02-398-8585
[Mail] social@ytn. co. kr
[Copyright holder (c) YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution and use of AI data prohibited]
■ Starring: Jang Young-soo, professor of law at Korea University Law School, 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 News Special] when quoting.
[Anchor]
Today is the third day since Yoon Suk Yeol's president was arrested as a sitting president. I am staying inside the Seoul Detention Center without responding to the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. It is known that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is planning to seek an arrest warrant for President Yoon soon. Today, we are joined by Jang Young-soo, a professor of law at Korea University, and Yang Ji-min, a lawyer. Please come in.
[Anchor]
President Yoon celebrated his second day at the Seoul Detention Center. Since they are not showing up at all, many people are curious about where they are spending their time. First, let's look at President Yoon's situation. I just met the morning of the second day at the Seoul Detention Center, and it was reported that I was living in a suit.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. In general, President Yoon Suk Yeol's status is under arrest and not yet under arrest and imprisonment, so you can think of him as using a solitary cell, a space to wait for arrest before arrest. If you are arrested in a space of about 3 pyeong, you can wear your own clothes because you have to sleep and eat there, but there are also clothes provided. However, since what President Yoon is claiming now is denying the pre-arrest process and saying it is illegal, there may be room for antipathy against wearing this dress as president and following the instructions of the detention facility, but as a consistent act of his actions, I will not comply with this illegal procedure. Therefore, he was seen wearing his clothes and suits that he usually wore and entering the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but he is said to be wearing the same clothes and living now.
[Anchor]
So, the current situation seems to be denying everything, but in case you don't know, CCTV is running 24 hours a day. What kind of situation can we assume if you don't know?
[Jimin Yang]
In general, detention centers, or correctional institutions, monitor inmates like this, but there are also aspects that assume that the inmate acts and runs out of them. However, there are various possibilities such as the risk of self-harm and the possibility of collapsing due to poor health. In that respect, it is practically difficult for a person to stand in front of the door and keep monitoring, so think of it as checking CCTV 24 hours a day to see if something is happening to the president.
[Anchor]
Professor, didn't President Yoon ask the Seoul Central District Court to re-judge the legality of the arrest? This was dismissed yesterday, and more attention is being paid to it because it was a judgment made by the Seoul Central District Court. What did you say was the basis for the judgment?
[Jang Young-soo]
In the end, issuing an arrest warrant did not comply with three summonses, which means issuing an arrest warrant because it requires compulsory summons, and there is nothing wrong with it. Another thing is that if, in the current situation, the arrest warrant was issued by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit without investigative power, as President Yoon says, and the issuance of the warrant went to the Western District Court, which was illegal because of it, it would have had a very serious ripple effect that would have overturned the entire political situation. It would have been very difficult for the Central District Court to admit this without any certainty, it seems so.
[Anchor]
Yesterday, there was also a possibility that President Yoon would attend the arrest suit in person, so we continued to show him the detention center during our news session yesterday. However, President Yoon did not attend in person.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. The lawyer said that since he is an incumbent president, he should be protected by the security service. As you may have seen, some of the security vehicles came before the president moved to the security office and inspected the facilities and checked the surrounding areas. However, the hearing on the arresting pride was caught very quickly. And even in terms of distance, it can be seen that it is a little more than the distance between the official residence and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, or even though the distance is actually close, the court's control of personnel was not carried out in advance.
Therefore, it seems that the position was finally decided that the party would not be present by comprehensively considering such aspects that may cause problems in security. Instead, I think the problem of not attending has been resolved because lawyers who will represent their opinions from the perspective of the parties were present. However, there is a difference in the weight of the arrest warrant and the actual examination of the arrest warrant, and the president actively responded to the warrant examination, so many say that although the arrest warrant examination was not present, there is a high possibility that he will attend the warrant examination.
[Anchor]
It is said that three people each from President Yoon's side and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit had a fierce battle yesterday, so would the professor be able to organize both sides' arguments?
[Jang Young-soo]
First of all, the president's argument has continued. Eventually, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit did not have the right to investigate and the warrant was issued illegally, which is why the entire series of processes related to this arrest is illegal. He has not budged from this claim, and not from the side of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. It is a legally issued warrant and has been legally executed accordingly. That's natural, but the question is, hasn't the Central District Court also decided to dismiss this? And his acceptance of the rejection decision. In other words, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit would welcome the decision, but President Yoon's side will argue the issue until the end, not that they will no longer argue over it. In the future, whether it is a matter of investigative rights of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or issuing warrants in the Western District Court, I will continue to raise questions with confidence that this is illegal. That's what I did. This is where we can think of two things, and one thing we've already told you about the arrest itself.In addition, I will fight anything that can be said to be illegal on other issues. In other words, the lawyers of former President Park Geun Hye said that there was little legal debate, but this time it is not. He showed an attitude that he would argue with the law by considering the end, so I see it like this.
[Anchor]
In fact, the judgment of the Seoul Central District Court was noted yesterday because the president continued to raise questions about the court. Why do you file a warrant with the Western District Court? At first, I thought that the president's request for an arrest suit to the Central District Court was a trick, but in the end, some analysts say that this result is rather a defeat of the president's side. What do you think between the defeat and the defeat?
[Jang Young-soo]
I didn't do much to the Central District Court, but I didn't have much to lose here. That's what I think. In the first place, I think President Yoon's defense must have expected to some extent that it would be dismissed here. As I said earlier, if I quote here, it becomes a serious problem that will reverse the whole situation. Thousands of police to make these illegal arrests. They use more police than martial law forces to arrest the president. I'm in trouble. If this happens, the wavelength itself will be too big. Even if you don't expect to admit it to that point, at least you continue to raise the issue. Let's just cover this up and move on. I can never see anything like this. And it will continue to be a burden on President Yoon in the future, but it seems to be a situation that also puts a burden on the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit.
[Anchor]
Politicians are also continuing to debate the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Let's listen to the voices of the political community for a moment and continue talking.
[Anchor]
With the judgment of the Seoul Central District Court, the controversy over the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has ended, can we see it like this?
[Jimin Yang]
First of all, it is difficult for President Yoon's lawyers to continue to raise this jurisdiction controversy. So, as you have explained so far, why do you request an arrest warrant from the Western District Court, not the Central District Court, which should be viewed as exclusive jurisdiction over the case of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, was very big, and I actually filed an objection after the first warrant was issued. Nevertheless, those objections were rejected. So in fact, in a way, the Western District Court confirmed three times that there was no problem with jurisdiction. Nevertheless, since the Western District Court was the subject of such a judgment, President Yoon Suk Yeol could not admit it, so there is no provision that an arrest warrant must be filed with the court where the arrest warrant was issued. Nevertheless, the Central District Court decided that there was no reason to discuss the issuance of these first and second warrants in any legal defects or arrest suit, so it is appropriate to say that the jurisdiction and the investigative rights issue, which have been raised along with it, are being settled to some extent.
[Anchor]
The lawyer said that it's over. What do you think, professor? The Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant yesterday, and some say that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is likely to request the Western District Court for its own consistency. If so, the president will not be able to raise questions about the jurisdiction issue. Because it was rejected yesterday, what do you think about this?
[Jang Young-soo]
I'm a little different. First of all, the question is whether the central or western law is not judged by the central law. In other words, it has the requirement to issue an arrest warrant. So the arrest warrant itself is legal. I was just talking about this. And there have been various controversies over this arrest warrant, but there have been many criticisms about the issue of putting Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act, so haven't they been removed from the second warrant? In the end, there is still room for individual issues to be contested in such a way. I think so, and in particular, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has not fully explained why it is going to the Western District Court. As a result, various suspicions are being raised, and if even some of those suspicions are confirmed to be true, the issue can be reignited. So, it may be over for now on those points, but it's not completely over. I think so.
[Anchor]
The time was suspended while the arrest suit was in progress. So the deadline for the president's arrest will be delayed, right?
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. The warrant was executed at 10:33 a.m. on the 15th, so the airborne office secured 48 hours, and then there was originally a time limit for arrest at 10:33 a.m. on the 17th. However, as I requested an arrest suit, I sent the record to the court and the time I received it from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was omitted. So it would be right to assume that the arrest deadline will eventually increase and that the arrest deadline will expire around 9 p.m. on January 17th. If so, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will request an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol before the end of that time, waiting for its issuance, and if it is issued, it can also be called in under personal detention for investigation. That's why there's a story that it goes in the order of requesting an arrest warrant.
[Anchor]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit tried to investigate the president a little more before requesting an arrest warrant, but the president refused to re-investigate at 10 a.m. today and did not attend the investigation at 2 p.m. yesterday. Is there no problem with this part?
[Jimin Yang]
First of all, if you are a general suspect, there are parts where you can force a recruitment or force an inch. However, it would be practically difficult to force President Yoon to come out at a time when he said he would not come out as he is an incumbent president and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will be treated with the utmost respect. As a result, there is a very high possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will still exercise his right to remain silent even if he comes to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and starts the investigation again. Therefore, it seems that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is approaching it with the idea that we can buy more time if we wait a little while and request an arrest warrant rather than pushing through the demand.
[Anchor]
President Yoon has not responded to the investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit since yesterday, and he also exercised his right to remain silent in the first investigation. There are also views that this attitude will affect the outcome in the future, what do you think?
[Jang Young-soo]
However, first of all, what we need to see here is the right to refuse to make a statement and the right to remain silent is a constitutional right guaranteed, and I will penalize you for exercising that right. This is not legally allowed. And what's more, the problem with that is, in fact, that in these multi-person crimes, it's common for the investigation of the chief executive to go to the final stage. Because first of all, he captured the evidence from the bottom, listened to the testimony, secured physical evidence, and then went when he exercised his right to remain silent, and other people testified like this below. Or refute that it's not. If we talk like this, it's against me if we stay like this. You can legally exercise the right to remain silent, but you have to make them judge that there is nothing in my favor. That's the basis of the investigation, and since the president ignores it and talks about it, this situation is happening and there is no way to break it at the moment, so in the end, the president in the detention center does not respond to the investigation, but the same thing will happen again and again, so I think it's not effective.
[Anchor]
So, exercising the right to remain silent is a guaranteed right, as you said, but there are definitely parts of respect for the president, but I will reject this presidential image, for example, suspects of other crimes. There is also a view that if it can be seen in such a way, it can be a bad precedent. What do you think about that?
[Jang Young-soo]
That part is that the right to remain silent is not specifically recognized by the president, but equally recognized by all citizens. In the end, what can be a problem here is that, even if you exercise your right to remain silent, you cannot escape. He should have been able to press with previously secured evidence, but he was not ready for an investigation after his arrest because he was only concerned with arresting the president immediately after omitting the procedure. I think this is a problem.
[Anchor]
And since today's arrest deadline for the president is 9:05 p.m., the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will request an arrest warrant before then, and if the warrant is requested, the warrant will be reviewed. Please explain how long it will take after the claim to proceed with the review and how the process will proceed.
[Jimin Yang]
In general, the hearing itself is decided very quickly because it is a matter of important personal restraint that determines restraint. So, just looking at the arrest suit, it is a matter of arguing over whether or not to arrest the incumbent president within a very short period of time, as if the hearing time and the deadline were designated, so it is expected that the case will be decided quickly because there is a possibility that the Western District Court or the Central District Court will try to put the case first. In general, President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers, including lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, and three others, including prosecutors from the Senior Prosecutor Cha Jung-hyun, have attended the arrest suit, so it seems highly likely that the same person will respond to the warrant review. First of all, it is a principle to interrogate the suspect in the actual examination of the arrest warrant, and in the case of arrested suspects, the interrogation must be conducted by the day after the warrant is requested. Therefore, it seems that there is a possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend in person. Of course, there are areas where the security issue must be resolved first, so if the court, the security agency, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are well coordinated, President Yoon Suk Yeol, who can be considered a party, can attend and express the injustice of his arrest or why he should not be arrested.
[Anchor]
Although there are many controversial points left, it is expected that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will seek an arrest warrant today, so how much do you expect the results to be?
[Jang Young-soo]
In fact, the key parts of the difference between arrest and arrest are not that they did not comply with the summons after all, but that they should focus on whether there is a fear of escape and destruction of evidence as a reason for arrest. However, in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, he is very well known in Korea, so he has no place to go. He has banned people from fleeing overseas. Then, he will be arrested for talking about his fear of running away? This is not right. The destruction of evidence has already been over a month since the incident, and most of the evidence to be destroyed has been destroyed. It's reasonable to look at it like this. If so, investigation, trial, or detention are the principles, but what other serious reasons should be specifically arrested? How does the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit claim this and persuade the judge in charge of the warrant? This seems to be the key, but I don't think it's going to be that big. In other words, the weight of arrest and detention is different, but the requirements are also different. In the case of arrest, it is a principle to say that this case should be done because he refused to comply with the summons three times, but I think arrest is different.
[Anchor]
Some said that the reason for the arrest would not be sufficient because the fear of escape and destruction of evidence is low, but some refused to make a statement in the first investigation of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. And after that, he didn't respond at all. There was also a view that these points increased the possibility of arrest.
[Yang Jimin]
So, in general, it is difficult for President Yoon Suk Yeol to say that there is a fear of fleeing, but there is also a possibility that there is a fear of destroying evidence in this regard. That's why some say that President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend and did not respond to the execution of the arrest warrant, and these are considered to increase the possibility of issuing an arrest warrant. And as the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit says now, it is very difficult to summon and investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol from the detention center. However, according to the Public Information Service, even if the summons is not conducted sufficiently or additionally, there will be no problem in requesting an arrest warrant based on the statements of those involved or physical evidence. Therefore, considering that, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that a warrant request will probably be made today, and in the process, the issues addressed in the arrest suit will come and argue.
[Anchor]
Then after this, the court will decide. Either issue it or dismiss it. There will only be two cases, so it will be the first time in constitutional history that an incumbent president will be arrested if he is arrested, so what will happen to the president's future course?
[Jimin Yang]
If it is dismissed, time will pass because there is a high possibility that the arrest deadline will expire in itself. That's why we need to release him immediately and he'll probably be able to go to his official residence. However, if an arrest warrant is issued, there is a possibility that he will be investigated by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or the prosecution in the case of arrest. In the case of arrest, the prosecution has set a deadline of 20 days, so there is some agreement between the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the prosecution to investigate the president in 10 days. So, if it is issued, there is a possibility that it will be divided and investigated. However, another variable here is that even if he is arrested, he will not leave the Seoul Detention Center because he is an incumbent president. I've already told you everything, and there's a possibility that you'll say you won't respond to the investigation. If that happens, it is a situation in which personal detention has been practically carried out through arrest, but it may be impossible to investigate, such as drawing meaningful statements even though they have secured recruits.
[Anchor]
But since the deadline for the arrest of President Yoon is 9:05 p.m. tonight, if the investigation of the arrest warrant continues after that, where will the president stay in the meantime?
[Jimin Yang]
We usually wait at the Seoul Detention Center. In the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, he waits for a warrant to be issued after undergoing a substantive examination of an arrest warrant when he is arrested, but even ordinary citizens who have been free to attend the warrant examination and wait at the Seoul Detention Center, or in some cases, wait for the prosecution. So, depending on whether or not a warrant is issued while waiting, it is decided whether the person will be released or handed over to the detention center as it is.
[Anchor]
If you look at the situation on the president's side so far, legal action has continued to be taken in every part that the agency sees as an element of illegality, and most of them have not been accepted. Is that why the president's strategy is right now? People keep saying that we need to change this strategy, but what do you think about this part?
[Jang Young-soo]
That's what the president's lawyers will consider in their own way. However, personally, I have to look at it in three aspects first, but now President Yoon and Representative Lee Jae-myung are competing for time. This is a widely known fact, and it is unlikely that it will change its strategy in terms of the time fight as well. In the end, it would be difficult to say that I have no intention of dragging my feet while arguing over everything. And secondly, I'm not giving up easily towards my supporters. I said I'd fight until the end and I'm going to go with that. There's going to be something like this. And thirdly, there's something that you do with the idea that it's actually not very likely to be accepted, but some of it is really worth arguing about.
[Anchor]
I see. At this point, let's take a look at the situation around the Seoul Detention Center where the president is in custody. There are a lot of supporters gathered right now. Let's take a look at the on-site screen. I'm at the Seoul Detention Center right now. President Yoon's lawyer here. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is delivering his position here. On the left side, it seems that many reporters are gathering to convey the situation.
[Anchor]
We will continue to report on how lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is expressing his position here. In front of the detention center, as you just heard, you can continue to hear supporters rallying. Many citizens who support President Yoon are still gathering and holding a rally here. If you look at the lower left, it is known that lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is surrounded by reporters and is conveying his position.
[Anchor]
As soon as lawyer Seok Dong-hyun's position is reported, we will deliver another breaking news. This time, I will briefly share the situation of the National Assembly. Originally, the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik was scheduled to meet with the Democratic Party floor leader in the morning to negotiate on the emergency martial law special investigation law. This has been pushed to the afternoon. So, Kwon Sung-dong, the floor leader of the People's Power, and Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, negotiated, but it seems to have ended without results. Negotiations ended a little after 2 p.m., and the plenary session became mindful.
[Anchor]
Let's listen to it together. Let's take a look at the on-site screen. Floor leader Kwon Sung-dong is coming out now, and lawmaker Joo Jin-woo is also appearing next to him.
[Anchor]
This is not the current situation at this time, but it is a situation where the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties met after negotiating a little after 2 p.m. Let's listen to it.
[Kwonseongdong]
It was not a full-fledged discussion. It's over because of the plenary session.
[Anchor]
Following that, floor leader Park Chan-dae is also coming out. Let's hear what kind of position they're expressing.
[PARK CHANDAE]
The plenary session will be held at 2:15. After dealing with agendas other than the special prosecutor's office and adjourning them, negotiations will begin to reach an agreement between the public and the Democratic Party related to the special prosecutor law. So, I haven't submitted the bill that the people's power wants to submit yet, but I suggested the opinion again with the draft. We talked about the reasons for the proposed opinion and we talked about our position first. Based on what we talked about, we will proceed with the consultation within the adjournment period. First of all, this agenda, which starts at 2:15, will probably be over in a short time. And we can meet again right after the adjournment.
[Anchor]
The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties negotiated on the special prosecution law on emergency martial law, and Kwon Sung-dong, the floor leader, said he explained the ruling party's own special prosecution bill to the Democratic Party. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader, said that the ruling party proposed an opinion based on the draft and explained the first position in the opposition party.
[Anchor]
And now that the plenary session has begun, floor leader Park Chan-dae said that the ruling and opposition parties will negotiate after dealing with agendas other than the independent counsel for rebellion at the plenary session. The Democratic Party of Korea suggested an opinion on the draft brought from the ruling party, and the opposition party explained the first position. And he expressed his position that he would agree within the adjournment period.
[Anchor]
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea declared that the special prosecution for rebellion is essential for concluding serious crimes that violate the constitutional order and democracy, and that it will be dealt with by the end of the day. As soon as it comes in, I'll give you a breaking news.
[Anchor]
And we were talking continuously, and President Yoon filed a complaint with the prosecution against Senior Superintendent of Public Offenses Oh Dong-woon and Senior Superintendent of the National Noodles Headquarters Woo Jong-soo. What charges did you file?
[Yang Ji-min]
President Yoon's side, Oh Dong-woon, head of the Airborne Division, and Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Police Agency, conducted and collected military secrets and leaked them. And he also forged official documents. He also raised the issue of trying to commit illegal arrest and imprisonment. To explain this, it seems that they are strongly raising the issue now regarding the forgery of such official documents that were stamped with the 55th Guard Corps, which was in question in the first place. And since Yoon Suk Yeol's side initially had military secrets about all the facilities within its official residence or doorway, entering this part itself was an attempt to detect or collect military secrets, and it actually extracted such information while communicating with some security personnel for arrest. I once said that this is a significant risk to military secrecy because it is based on such information and the strategy of arrest is gathered. That's why I'm saying I'll raise a problem and be judged on that part through a complaint. The reason why this was specified as a charge of rebellion is that the rebellion itself can be seen as an act of national constitutional controversy, but he filed a complaint with the prosecution on the grounds that illegally collecting military secrets and trying to make illegal arrests even by forging public documents is a national constitutional controversy.
[Anchor]
What do you think, professor? Regarding the controversy over official documents and President Yoon's accusation against the head of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the head of the National Noodles Division.
[Jang Young-soo]
You can see it in two ways. As I said earlier, everything that can be legally contested is contested. That's one, and the other is that it's difficult to take issue with all the things that actually went into arrest, but if it's true that the official documents were forged as they claimed, it could be a serious problem. You have to comb through these parts. At the same time, there was even a civil war to make the problem itself important, but I think it should be revealed because there seems to be a possibility of illegality, if not a civil war.
[Anchor]
And there was another meaningful part this morning, Kim Sung-hoon, deputy chief of the presidential office's security service, who was also classified as a hardliner within the security office, who was accused of interfering with the execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon, attended the police this morning. Let's take a look at this scene and talk about it.
[Anchor]
Deputy Director Kim Sung-hoon talked about various things while attending the police today. I did my fair security duties, I noticed the emphasis on this point, how did you see it?
[Jang Young-soo]
I think that makes sense. Because, for example, soldiers and police mobilized in martial law are considered quite similar to this case, but the security service is legally obligated to protect the president. And such a bodyguard gives up security? This is not a normal case in itself. And if this is a legitimate warrant, I don't know, but it is a warrant execution that is controversial about its legality. In this case, when some say it's legal and others say it's illegal, shouldn't it be difficult for the security agency to listen to the president and listen to the other side? I don't think this is completely wrong in that regard.
[Anchor]
After today's investigation, the police will secure Director Kim Sung-hoon's whereabouts, and he was arrested right away.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. First of all, there was a possibility that the warrant was issued, and in fact, there was a possibility of arrest together on the day of the second warrant execution, that is, the warrant execution against President Yoon. Nevertheless, the reason for delaying the deadline is that the security service for the incumbent president needs to be carried out and security needs to continue even when moving to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, so he seems to have just started arresting him because he did not want to execute the warrant. And even from a legal perspective, this is a warrant issued for investigation because the arrest was actually not present in the third round of subpoenas. However, anyway, even though the investigation was completed by the person in line, and the purpose was achieved, arresting after that could lead to another dispute over illegality. Therefore, it seems that he attended with his lawyer on the appointed date and executed the warrant right in front of it.
[Anchor]
As for Deputy Director Kim Sung-hoon, what do you think the police will focus on to conduct the investigation?
[Jimin Yang]
The charges you are receiving now are first obstruction of the execution of special public affairs. That's why they say that they did their job according to the security law of the security service on that day, and that they fulfilled their duties. It is also expected to examine whether such a scope of work has such a legitimate basis to prevent the execution of the warrant by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. On that day, we will focus on what orders were issued to prevent the execution of the warrant and what orders were issued to prevent the police or the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit from entering. It is said that there have been some physical fights, but the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit constitutes the law that prevents us from trying to execute a legitimate warrant, so it is expected to focus on what specific orders were issued accordingly.
[Anchor]
Now let's move on to the Constitutional Court. In the previous briefing, we designated and announced the 6th to 8th pleading dates, and we also talked about the date of witness examination. Professor, President Yoon asked the court to postpone the hearing date, but it was dismissed. What do you think about this part?
[Jang Young-soo]
For now, the Constitutional Court must make a decision quickly to end the chaos of state affairs as soon as possible. It is difficult to delay the decision by delaying the date of the judgment. It seems that they have this basic position. However, one thing we should be careful about here is that I don't think the judgment of such a Constitutional Court is wrong. But procedural fairness in the middle of the process. In the case of former President Roh Moo Hyun and former President Park Geun Hye, the confusion has ended as the people understand it through the decision of the Constitutional Court, which the people do not understand, whether this is an unfair trial, which could lead to greater confusion. Because of this, I fully understand what the Constitutional Court is trying to do quickly, but it should nevertheless remain fair and neutral and this should continue. I'd like to make that point.
[Anchor]
As you can see, the National Assembly summarized the reasons for impeachment at the Constitutional Court's hearing yesterday, and many stories are said to have been exchanged. Let's listen to some of the key remarks made by the Constitutional Court yesterday and talk about yesterday together.
[Anchor]
There were a lot of scenes about yesterday's hearing date, especially when the president's lawyer Bae Bo-yoon couldn't clearly answer. How did you see this scene now?
[Jang Young-soo]
First of all, the president's lawyers have not been able to fully review and discuss these issues with each other, so to speak, and since this is a very important part of the matter itself, it seems that we will sort out our position carefully, but this is probably the beginning, but it should not continue in the future.
[Anchor]
And the Constitutional Court adopted a request for witnesses for five people, including Hong Jang-won, former deputy director of the NIS, and Jo Ji-ho, the police chief. All of them are witnesses applied by the National Assembly, but in this way, they are high-ranking military and police officials related to emergency martial law.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. In the first place, the National Assembly expressed its opinion to apply for 15 witnesses, but in terms of the speed of the procedure and the inefficiency of calling all witnesses, the court applied for witnesses, and the Constitutional Court accepted and adopted this part. However, as you pointed out, what these five people have in common, such as former Deputy Chief Hong Jang-won and National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, was that I was instructed by President Yoon Suk Yeol to arrest someone on the phone at the time of the declaration of emergency martial law. These are the people who claim to have been ordered. Therefore, even if you look at the part that the National Assembly applied for witnesses like this, it can be interpreted as a way to prove to the Constitution that there was such a violation of the constitution that attempted to arrest lawmakers and some people at the time by sending an arrest team. And the Constitutional Court also adopted former Minister Kim Yong-hyun as a witness, but in the case of former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, he is not a witness requested by the National Assembly, but a witness requested by President Yoon. However, we have applied for witnesses for several people, but we have adopted only former Minister Kim Yong-hyun. We have said we will make a decision on the remaining number of people later.
[Anchor]
And as we showed you earlier through the Constitutional Court briefing, the Constitutional Court has set the schedule from 6th to 8th, that is, 8th, which was the previous 5th hearing day yesterday. In this regard, the president also showed a little bit of opposition, so we will listen to this and continue to talk.
[Anchor] As you heard
, isn't it too tightly woven using the expression that the lawyer is not a robot?
[Jang Young-soo]
That's right. It's not common to argue every two days.
[Anchor]
How did you hear this part? I strongly opposed it.
[Jang Young-soo]
In particular, it seems that the president's lawyers, who are not sufficient, have no choice but to protest. However, in this regard, I think the Constitutional Court is in a hurry because after deciding the fifth round, we can talk about the sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds around next week, not right now. And depending on the progress, you can go a little tighter, or you need to take a break here, but why are you rushing this too much? Rather, I think that if this causes a dispute over fairness, the damage is much greater than the benefit.
[Anchor]
The third hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on January 21st, and the Constitutional Court has adopted former Minister Kim Yong-hyun as a witness, followed by Kim Hyun-tae, the 707 special commander, as a witness. We don't have much time left, so let's talk about former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The trial was held for the first time yesterday, and in fact, there is a reason why I was very interested in this trial. Former Minister Kim Yong-hyun claimed that he had misrepresented the decree, which was recently controversial on the part of President Yoon, but he argued that it was contrary to this.
[Jimin Yang]
That's right. President Yoon and former Minister Kim Yong-hyun now seem to be in conflict over whose opinion was the No. 1 decree. In the case of decree No. 1, it contained a ban on the activities of the National Assembly, local councils, and political parties, but President Yoon said that former Minister Kim Yong-hyun copied it incorrectly, but from former Minister Kim Yong-hyun's point of view, it is now argued that I drafted it, but the president, who is the final decision maker, reviewed it. So, of course, it seems necessary to examine the credibility of the statement, but if you look at the 1972 and 1980 proclamations, it is not exactly like the National Assembly and local councils, but it is just prohibited from political activities, so I think there is a process to examine the credibility of the claim because there is only an argument from both sides as to whether there is room for misinterpretation.
[Anchor]
I see. So far, we have pointed out legal issues with Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University's law school, and Yang Ji-min, a lawyer. Thank you.
※ 'Your report becomes news'
[Kakao Talk] YTN Search and Add Channel
[Phone] 02-398-8585
[Mail] social@ytn. co. kr
[Copyright holder (c) YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution and use of AI data prohibited]
Politics
More- [Breaking News] Democratic Party of Korea "Prepare an amendment to the Special Prosecutor Act that reflects the claim of people's power"
- [News NIGHT] Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit seeks a warrant for Yoon's arrest..."Unfair" vs "Of course".
- "Yoon's right to defend" controversy Human Rights Commissioner "Opposition Party threatens the people"...Opposition "Brain is rotten"
- Ruling party "Democrats are unstable forces in state affairs"...Democrats "Strengthen Korea-U.S. Alliance"
![[Yetterview] "I solved my thirst for the stage".ONEUS, who finished "Rotalking", went head-to-head in "Seven Years of Magic."](https://image.ytn.co.kr/general/jpg/2025/0117/202501171745398039_h.jpg)
