Prosecutors: "Police Warrant Requests Handled by Dedicated Department, Not Emergency Martial Law Special Unit"

On the 11th, the prosecution announced that the warrant-related tasks requested by the police in connection with the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' are being handled by a separate dedicated department, not by the prosecution's Special Investigation Headquarters.

On the 9th, in the special investigation headquarters for the emergency martial law by the prosecution, it is reported that former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jung-geun is being summoned and investigated. The Taegeukgi and prosecution flags are fluttering in the wind in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building. Photo by Heo Young-han

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office explained, "The warrant tasks requested by the police related to the emergency martial law case are being processed through normal procedures by an independent separate department, not by the Special Investigation Headquarters," and added, "Warrants requested by the police that were recognized as necessary and reasonable have been promptly filed."

However, the prosecution stated that among the search and seizure warrants requested by the police, those that were dismissed due to jurisdictional issues and concerns over overlapping investigations were deemed lacking in necessity and reasonableness.

They noted that search and seizure warrants requested by the police for the Army Special Warfare Command and others had been dismissed. Regarding this, they explained, "According to the Military Court Act, the military court has jurisdiction," and "Considering that military prosecutors dispatched to the prosecution's Special Investigation Headquarters were already conducting investigations on the subjects and had obtained search and seizure warrants from the military court."

This implies that the prosecution judged there was no need for the police to conduct separate search and seizure operations on matters for which the prosecution had already obtained warrants.

The prosecution also explained that they comprehensively considered the fact that the court had already dismissed communication warrants for active-duty soldiers due to concerns over overlapping investigations. The prosecution stated, "We fully recognize the seriousness of the matter and are reviewing and processing all police warrant requests as swiftly as possible."

Earlier, voices within the police had claimed that before the prosecution's Special Investigation Headquarters conducted search and seizure operations on the Army Special Warfare Command and the Capital Defense Command, the police had first applied for search and seizure warrants, but the prosecution did not file them.