Visible Signs of Yoon's Control Amid Blue House Security Office Rift... Choi Sang-mok Seeks Last-Minute Solution

Internal Strife in Security Service Raises Prospects of Imminent Arrest of Yoon
Choi Sang-mok Meets Separately with Kwon Young-se and Lee Jae-myung
"No Physical Clashes"... Attention on Possible Solutions

As the internal cohesion of the Presidential Security Service, now operating under an acting leadership system, begins to falter, there are growing prospects that the execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol is imminent. So far, Choi Sang-mok, the acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, who had been passive about President Yoon's arrest, has been meeting consecutively with leaders of both ruling and opposition parties to seek a last-minute solution.

According to political circles on the 13th, after Kim Seong-hoon, classified as a 'hardliner,' took over as acting head of the Security Service, posts opposing the existing Security Service policy have appeared on the internal network, and calls for Kim’s resignation have been raised, intensifying internal strife.

A three-page A4-sized post uploaded to the internal network on the 11th stated that if the Security Service obstructs the lawful execution of an arrest warrant by investigative agencies, it could constitute obstruction of official duties. As this post spread internally and caused unrest, Kim ordered its deletion but then reposted it following internal backlash, creating confusion.

Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, is holding a meeting on external economic issues at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

In particular, dissatisfaction among staff has grown after it became known that President Yoon had consecutive lunches from the 10th to the 12th with Kim Seong-hoon, the acting chief, and Lee Kwang-woo, head of the Security Headquarters, during which he instructed a 'hardline response.' At a meeting of department heads and section chiefs the previous day, when Kim conveyed a policy that would not hesitate to use forceful confrontation, a department head demanded Kim’s resignation, and Kim was reportedly placed on standby. This is highly unusual in the Security Service, which has a strong hierarchical culture.

There is analysis that if the police secure the custody of key leaders known as hardliners, such as Acting Chief Kim Seong-hoon and Headquarters Chief Lee Kwang-woo, the defensive line blocking the execution of President Yoon’s arrest warrant will collapse. As prospects for the execution of a second arrest warrant for President Yoon grow, political circles are also showing signs of tension. Acting Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok met separately with Kwon Young-se, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, at the National Assembly this morning to exchange views on recent political issues.

Since Acting Deputy Prime Minister Choi holds the position that there should be no physical clashes between the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) or police and the Security Service, it appears he focused on finding a bipartisan consensus regarding President Yoon’s arrest. On the 10th, Choi said, "I ask the ruling and opposition parties to agree and prepare a special prosecutor law without unconstitutional elements," adding, "The current situation will naturally be resolved." The passage of the special prosecutor law on the insurrection case would unify the investigation of President Yoon under a special prosecutor, resolving controversies such as the 'illegal warrant by HOCI.' A ruling party official said, "There is a strong perception that the HOCI investigation and the warrant issued by the Western District Court were flawed, so there is a mood that a special prosecutor might be preferable."

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