Police Refer Three Security Commanders for 'Martial Law National Assembly Control'

Restricted Access to the National Assembly Despite Awareness of Constitutional Disruption

Three members of the security command, who were involved in restricting access to the National Assembly during the illegal declaration of martial law, have been referred to the prosecution.

The Special Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency announced on April 14 that Im Jeongju, former Director of Security at the National Police Agency; Oh Bumyeong, former Deputy Chief of Public Safety at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency; and Ju Jinwoo, former Chief of Security at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, have been transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention on charges of participating in important insurrection-related duties and abuse of authority. These members of the command staff were not separately investigated by the special prosecutor's office.

Citizens gather in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, in December 2024, calling for the lifting of martial law declared by former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

Im and the others are accused of knowingly pursuing the objective of undermining the constitutional order during martial law, using police units such as the Seoul Metropolitan Police Mobile Unit and the National Assembly Security Unit to restrict access to the National Assembly, and allowing martial law troops to enter the parliamentary grounds.

The Special Investigation Headquarters, which has been investigating the three major special prosecutor cases, reportedly identified charges against these three individuals independently from the special prosecutor’s investigation and carried out their own probe. With the transfer of these three to the prosecution, only two police suspects remain under investigation by the Special Investigation Headquarters: Jeon Changhun, former Director of Investigation Planning, and Lee Hyeonil, former Chief of the Investigation Planning Division.

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