Police Special Investigation Unit: "If President Yoon Meets Conditions, Emergency Arrest Possible... Review Needed" (Comprehensive)

No Request to Ban President's Departure
On Self-Investigation Criticism, "Did Not Report to Police Commissioner"
Five Complaints Filed, 11 Accused Persons

On the 9th, the police stated regarding the possibility of the emergency arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol, "It depends on whether the conditions for emergency arrest are met, and if they are, it can be done, but reviewing that part is a priority."

Woo Jong-su, Chief of the National Investigation Headquarters at the National Police Agency, is giving the first briefing on the investigation status of the December 3 martial law incident on the morning of the 9th at the National Investigation Headquarters, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

A representative of the Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Unit of the National Police Agency said this during a press briefing on the investigation of the emergency martial law situation, in response to a question about whether an emergency arrest of President Yoon, similar to former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, is possible.

The official explained about the travel ban on President Yoon, "It has not been requested yet and is still under review," adding, "We are comprehensively considering the actual possibility of departure and various other factors."

Regarding criticism that the Special Investigation Unit is conducting a 'self-investigation' of the emergency martial law case, the unit stated, "We are not reporting anything to Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho," and added, "The Police Commissioner does not have specific investigative command authority and is diligently investigating under the direction of the Chief of the National Investigation Headquarters."

The official also explained about the investigation of Commissioner Jo and Seoul Police Commissioner Kim Bong-sik, saying, "We cannot specify exactly when it will take place, but it is planned," and "Forensic analysis is underway on voluntarily submitted mobile phones." Regarding not imposing travel bans on the police leadership, the official said, "There is a matter of judgment on who should be prioritized most urgently," and "It is under review."

The Special Investigation Unit announced that it has imposed travel bans on four subjects of the emergency martial law investigation: former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, former Minister Kim, former Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung, and Army Chief of Staff and Martial Law Commander Park An-su. Emergency travel bans are restrictive measures applied when there is an urgent need beyond ordinary travel bans and have a structure similar to emergency arrest in terms of requirements.

So far, five complaints related to emergency martial law have been filed. The accused include 11 individuals: President Yoon, former Minister Lee, former Minister Kim, General Park, former Commander Yeo, former Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, former Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun, Commissioner Jo, Commissioner Kim, National Assembly Security Chief Mok Hyun-tae, and People Power Party Floor Leader Chu Kyung-ho. All are charged with offenses such as rebellion under the Criminal Act and mutiny under the Military Criminal Act.

Earlier, the National Investigation Headquarters announced that it would expand the existing emergency martial law investigation team to a special investigation unit of about 150 members by adding over 30 investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Investigation Division Chief, the Major Crime Investigation Division, and the Crime Intelligence Division of the National Investigation Headquarters. This is in the form of dispatching and supporting additional personnel to the National Investigation Headquarters' Security Investigation Division. Special Investigation Unit Chief Woo Jong-su emphasized, "There are no personnel or material restrictions on the subjects of this investigation," and "We will conduct a strict investigation according to law and principles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.