For the first time ever, an incumbent president was arrested...a barrage of protesters into the court

■ Host: Anchor Lee Ha-rin and anchor Jung Ji-woong
■ Starring: Reporter Baek Jong-gyu

* 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]
Yoon Suk Yeol's president, accused of being the head of a rebellion, was arrested 47 days after the emergency martial law and four days after his arrest.

[Anchor]
Since then, President Yoon's supporters have stormed into the Seoul Western District Court, where they issued a warrant, and have committed violence, causing police to subdue it. Let's take a look at the emergency martial law investigation with reporter Baek Jong-kyu.

[Anchor]
In the end, the president attended the investigation of the arrest warrant himself, but he couldn't avoid arrest.

[Reporter]
That's right. It's unprecedented in the history of the Constitution. It has been 47 days since the emergency martial law occurred from arrest to arrest. And four days after the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit executed and arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest warrant, he was arrested. Cha Eun-kyung, a senior judge at the Seoul Western District Court, issued a warrant this time. According to the contents of the warrant, the suspect is likely to destroy the evidence. President Yoon Suk Yeol is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to commit a riot for the purpose of national constitutional disorder by declaring an unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law on the 3rd of last month.

The court also recognized the fact that the emergency martial law was declared even though there were no signs of war, events, or similar national emergencies. It was also recognized that he issued an illegal martial law decree prohibiting political activities of the National Assembly, blocked the National Assembly by mobilizing the police, and obstructed the resolution to lift the emergency martial law. In addition, the court also seems to have admitted that it tried to arrest National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, former People's Power Leader Han Dong-hoon, and Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung.

[Anchor]
If so, let's also look at the background of the court issuing an arrest warrant for President Yoon. Which part was the most decisive?

[Reporter]
The most notable part of the court was the concern of destroying evidence. The reason for this is that President Yoon refused to seize and search the presidential residence and replaced his mobile phone before and after the emergency martial law. In addition, the fact that he left Telegram, a messenger app, and refused to investigate when he was arrested were also included in the fear of destroying evidence. In this regard, the court seems to have issued a warrant because it judged that there was a risk of destroying evidence.

[Anchor]
In the end, he saw that there was a risk of destroying evidence by utilizing the president's influence. The charges must have been taken seriously. Didn't you actually admit to the charge of the head of the rebellion?

[Reporter]
That's right. Given the reason for the issuance of the arrest warrant, it was judged that there was a concern about the charge of the head of the rebellion and the destruction of evidence. The court first needs to clarify the criminal charge in order to decide to issue an arrest warrant. On the premise of clarifying the main charges, it comprehensively judges the possibility of fleeing or destroying evidence and issues an arrest warrant if necessary. In the arrest warrant, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit specified the head of a rebellion against President Yoon and the charge of obstructing the exercise of rights to abuse his authority. The court judged the investigation data submitted by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. The court issued an arrest warrant after judging that these parts, namely the charge of the head of the rebellion and the exercise of the right to abuse authority, were cleared.

[Anchor]
Eventually, the incumbent president was arrested. It was also noteworthy whether the emergency martial law could be seen as a civil war. In the end, the court also judged that the emergency martial law situation can be seen as an act of rebellion, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. President Yoon deployed armed martial law forces to block the National Assembly and obstructed the decision to lift the martial law. In addition, they say that the charges of rebellion have been fully proven, saying that they operated an arrest team for key figures, occupied the Central Election Commission, and attempted to take out servers. And there were already statements from those involved who were arrested and charged. Go in and drag the president of Yoon Suk Yeol out of the National Assembly. It was also admitted that he was instructed to break the door with an axe and pull it out.

However, President Yoon's side is in this position that declaring emergency martial law is a constitutional decision and a unique act of governance by the president. That's why they say it can't be an act of rebellion. This part is not recognized. As the anchor said, President Yoon is the first incumbent president to examine the warrant. I was supposed to not come forward, but I reversed my position and came forward. The president himself defended himself, but the court acknowledged that the court needed to investigate Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest. And the leader of the rebellion also acknowledged it. However, the issuance of an arrest warrant itself does not mean that President Yoon's charge of "insurrection leader" was convicted. This means that the crime is suspected enough to issue an arrest warrant. That is why the final judgment is that the crime must be thoroughly and strictly proved so as not to leave a reasonable possibility of doubt in criminal trials.

[Anchor]
An arrest warrant was issued at around 3 a.m. today. I'm looking at the reasons for issuing an arrest warrant for the president, and I've looked at the concerns about the destruction of evidence and the seriousness of the issue. But didn't the president refuse to comply with the prosecution's summons twice, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit three times, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit's execution of the first arrest warrant? There was also an evaluation that these points became self-inflicted.

[Reporter]
That's right. Yoon's appearance in the process of responding to the investigation into the alleged civil war was different from that of Yoon Suk Yeol, a lawyer-turned-president. It has been investigated by denying illegal investigations, claims of invalidity of warrants, and the judicial system. Law enforcement, judicial proceedings, and judgment were all shown to be disobedient. As a result, it became the first current presidential arrest handshake in the Constitutional Government. He even came out and defended himself in the warrant examination, but it seems that he shook hands, too. In addition, the president of Yoon Suk Yeol did not respond to investigations by investigative agencies and focused on public opinion. He thanked his supporters who participated in the investigation and anti-impeachment rally through his lawyer, posted a handwritten letter on social media on New Year's Day, and continued to inform them that Yoon Suk Yeol's investigation and execution of arrest warrants were unfair, which is considered to have worked to gather supporters. However, there are some observations that the public opinion battle to unite such supporters was unfavorable to the suspect, President Yoon.

[Anchor]
Some in the legal profession say that refusing to comply with the request for attendance at the investigative agency is no different from escaping, and that a warrant has been issued.

[Reporter]
That's right. First of all, I refuse to attend the investigative agency. And the warrant denied the claims, the part that was issued, and the judicial system itself. I didn't respond again. These seem to have worked in the opposite way than emphasizing to President Yoon Suk Yeol that there is no fear of escape or destruction of evidence. So it can be interpreted negatively. defiance of the execution of a warrant It seems that this part also worked because there is room for the failure to comply with the investigation by the investigative agency itself to be interpreted as denying the criminal procedure itself. And what President Yoon Suk Yeol continues to insist on is that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has no investigative power. So the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has argued that there is a problem with the warrant request and the issuance of the Western District Court itself. Given the criteria for determining whether to issue a warrant, the judge's view is that this is also likely to have acted negatively rather than positively, considering the seriousness of the crime, the fear of destroying evidence, and the fear of fleeing.

[Anchor]
The president issued a position, but he said that a false arrest warrant was issued so that it was difficult to even bring up the judiciary's judgment in such a situation. You're arguing that it's anti-constitution, anti-law, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. President Yoon Suk Yeol's side is still focusing on the public opinion battle. It's seen as an intention to rally supporters. As you said, we recognize the judicial system. And I respect the court's judgment, there should have been these parts, but there are none of these parts. They continue to make remarks that seem to deny the judicial system itself. This is what lawyer Seok Dong-hyun revealed on social media. He argued that the court's issuance of an arrest warrant was the height of anti-constitution and anti-rule. I posted this on social media. The president declared emergency martial law to exercise the emergency powers granted by the Constitution and to inform the public of the national emergency as part of it, stressing that it is the basis of constitutional theory that it cannot be subject to judicial evaluation by investigative agencies or courts. He also said that it is absurd to drive what the current president, who is in the highest position in the country under the constitution, to a crime of civil war under the criminal law. Emphasizing those parts that are different from the general public sentiment, they are trying to gather more support and take more time.

[Anchor]
President Yoon, whose arrest warrant was issued, is highly likely to be handed over to trial early next month, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. Now that you have been arrested, you can be arrested for a total of 20 days if you receive court permission for the prosecutor's arrest period of 10 days under the Criminal Procedure Act and extend it to 10 days. If you calculate the date, President Yoon was arrested on the 15th. Then, February 3rd will be the 20th. The actual expiration date of the arrest is expected to be around February 5, which is later than this.

[Anchor]
Arrested pride is considered, right?

[Reporter]
Since I requested an arrest suit and that time was excluded within 48 hours, I think I can expect it to be around February 5th if that part is included. However, there is a possibility that Yoon Suk Yeol's president will seek an arrest suit in the future. That's why it's a situation where time can be increased. If the binding pride is achieved, it will likely go back and forth in early February and around February 5. If you look at the situation of the investigation since then, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has the authority to investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol. The investigation is conducted by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the prosecution decided to continue the investigation and investigation by dividing it into 10 days and 10 days out of 20 days before executing President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest warrant at the beginning of the case.

However, including the 48-hour arrest deadline, the investigation time the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has is less than 10 days to investigate. I think it will be about 7 or 8 days. Then, I will hand it over to the prosecution, but if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit hands over the case around the 24th of this month, the prosecution will investigate for about 10 days and then arrest and prosecute President Yoon around the 5th of next month.

[Anchor]
In some cases, the president may request a binding appeal and the court may accept it. Then what's the deadline?

[Reporter]
If an arrest suit is requested and the court accepts the arrest suit, the arrest will be lifted. Then the president of Yoon Suk Yeol can be released. Then, you will have to be investigated without detention.

[Anchor]
Then the indictment could be delayed?

[Reporter]
Because the president hasn't responded to the investigation by the investigative agency. Even while under arrest, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit conducted the investigation only on the first day of the execution of the arrest warrant, and has not responded to the investigation for two or three days. However, if you move to Hannam-dong's official residence and stay, there is a high possibility that you will not respond even if the investigative agency asks you to attend. That's why the time is inevitably delayed.

[Anchor]
We talked about a president who was arrested for the first time in constitutional history related to the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. It was with reporter Baek Jong-gyu.