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Investigators mobilize all resources to detain Yoon

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Buses are parked in front of the gate of President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Buses are parked in front of the gate of President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Yoon's security chief attends police questioning
By Kwak Yeon-soo

Investigators are mobilizing all resources to make another attempt to execute a warrant to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law attempt, according to law enforcement authorities on Friday.

The joint investigation team, consisting of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the police and the defense ministry's investigation unit, is "preparing thoroughly" to secure access to the presidential residence in central Seoul's Hannam-dong.

It previously failed to detain Yoon on Jan. 3 due to resistance from the Presidential Security Service (PSS) and Yoon's supporters.

The National Office of Investigation convened a meeting on Friday to discuss the timing and method for executing the warrant.

Leaders of the investigation teams reviewed whether to detain PSS personnel before proceeding with Yoon's detention.

The police sent an official note to investigation teams requesting the mobilization of around 1,000 personnel on Thursday, signaling that the second attempt to execute the warrant is imminent.

The move comes after the Seoul Western District Court reissued a warrant against Yoon on Tuesday. Yoon's charges include leading an insurrection and abusing power regarding his Dec. 3 martial law order that the National Assembly later lifted.

The second warrant's deadline is unknown but is generally believed to be seven days long.

Oh Dong-woon, the CIO chief, said Thursday that blocking the warrant's execution undermines the rule of law.

"Anyone trying to stop authorities from detaining Yoon could face arrest," Oh said during a plenary session at the National Assembly.

Yoon's legal team condemned the CIO's detention warrant on Friday, calling it "illegal" and "invalid." It said the CIO's jurisdiction lies with the Seoul Central District Court, not the Seoul Western District Court, which reissued the warrant.

"The CIO and the police are attempting to destroy the constitutional order by using large-scale force disguised as warrant execution and illegally detaining the sitting president," Yoon's lawyer, Yoon Kap-keun, said in a statement. "The CIO's warrant execution by mobilizing forces with the purpose of violating the Constitution is an act of rebellion."

Park Chong-jun, chief of the Presidential Security Service, appears before the police in Seoul, Friday, for questioning regarding allegations that he blocked investigators' attempts to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 3. Yonhap

Park Chong-jun, chief of the Presidential Security Service, appears before the police in Seoul, Friday, for questioning regarding allegations that he blocked investigators' attempts to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 3. Yonhap

Meanwhile, PSS chief Park Chong-jun, who denied entry to investigators on Jan. 3, appeared before police for questioning on Friday over alleged obstruction of justice.

Park, who complied with the police's third summons after refusing two previous requests, reiterated his stance that any attempt to detain a sitting president is wrong.

"There should not be any physical clash or bloodshed under any circumstances," Park told reporters as he entered the Joint Investigation Headquarters in Seoul.

Park submitted his resignation to acting President Choi Sang-mok through his assistant this morning, the PSS said in a notice to the press. Choi later accepted the resignation.

Choi, who had stayed silent on the conflict between investigators and Yoon's security agents, urged the National Assembly to pass a special counsel bill through bipartisan cooperation. He said doing so could naturally resolve the ongoing standoff between the CIO and the PSS.

Opposition parties unilaterally passed a new special counsel bill during the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting, Friday, with ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotting the vote. The revised bill includes a provision for the recommendation of the special prosecutor by a third party, such as the Supreme Court chief justice, to investigate Yoon.

The entry to the National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

The entry to the National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Yoon's legal team said the police summoned Park to neutralize the president's security.

"Attempts to neutralize the president's security can cause serious harm to national security. The police must stop abusing their investigation authority," the lawyer said.

Authorities are looking to deploy maximum personnel and equipment, but their efforts to execute the warrant will likely face strong resistance from the PSS.

The PSS added more buses to block the road from the main gate of the residence to the presidential compound to strengthen its defenses after the first attempt failed.

It also blockaded the compound with barricades and barbed wire while reinforcing the iron gate atop the hill leading to the presidential residence with multiple steel chains.

Kwak Yeon-soo yeons.kwak@koreatimes.co.kr


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