Full Access Restriction Ordered at National Assembly
Impact of Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun's Detention
Testimonies of 'Blockade Operation' Flood Defense Committee
The police urgently arrested Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Seoul Police Commissioner Kim Bong-sik in connection with the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident.' This is an unprecedented event where a sitting Police Commissioner and Seoul Police Commissioner have been arrested.
On the 11th, the Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit announced that the two were urgently arrested on charges of rebellion. Commissioner Jo appeared at the Mapo Police Station of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at 4 p.m. the previous day, and Commissioner Kim appeared at the Seodaemun Police Agency at 5:30 p.m. for questioning.
They are accused of ordering two instances of complete access control to the National Assembly during the martial law period, blocking lawmakers from entering the National Assembly to vote on lifting martial law. Commissioner Jo stated that the first control was under his direction, and the second control was at the request of Park An-su, then Martial Law Commander. The Special Investigation Unit obtained their mobile phones voluntarily, analyzed communication contents, and imposed travel bans on them. The National Assembly plans to handle the impeachment motion against Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho at the plenary session on the 12th.
The arrest of Commissioners Jo and Kim appears to be influenced by the detention of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. Nam Cheon-gyu, the presiding judge for warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant after a pre-arrest hearing for former Minister Kim the previous day. Judge Nam explained, "It is judged to fall within the scope of crimes for which a prosecutor can initiate an investigation under Article 4, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 1(b) and (c) of the Prosecutors' Office Act," adding, "considering the degree of evidence, seriousness of the crime, and risk of evidence destruction." This is the first time the court has ruled that the martial law troops' operations on the day of the martial law incident constituted a riot aimed at disturbing the national order. Former Minister Kim is accused of recommending the unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law to President Yoon Suk-yeol and ordering martial law commanders to deploy military forces to the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission (charges of engaging in important duties of rebellion and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights).
The prosecution believes that former Minister Kim, in consultation with President Yoon, included unconstitutional content restricting the National Assembly's authority in the martial law proclamation. Under Kim's orders, the police controlled access to the National Assembly to block the vote on lifting martial law, and martial law troops broke windows and forcibly entered the National Assembly. The martial law troops also confiscated the mobile phones of employees on duty at the Central Election Commission's Gwacheon office and controlled access to the computer room.
Testimonies about the National Assembly lockdown operation have also poured in. Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-geun, Commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, testified at the National Assembly Defense Committee the previous day that President Yoon personally called and said, "It seems the quorum for the vote has not yet been met. Quickly break down the door and drag out the people inside." Former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won claimed that President Yoon ordered, "Arrest them all and clean up."
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