Minister of the Interior and Safety, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and Acting Commissioner of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency: "Emergency Martial Law is Unconstitutional"

Lee Hoyoung, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency, Bows in Apology

Former Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee, Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency Ji-ho Jo, and Acting Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Bong-sik Kim expressed a common view that the December 3 emergency martial law is unconstitutional.

Yonhap News

First, Ki-dong Go, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who is serving as acting minister following former Minister Lee's resignation, attended the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's current issues inquiry on the 13th and answered "Yes" to the question, "Is the December 3 emergency martial law unconstitutional or not?" He added, "I believe that emergency martial law must not violate the Constitution and laws," and said, "At first, I thought the related news was a false report. When I came to the office, I looked up the Constitution and seriously considered whether it was appropriate." Furthermore, Deputy Minister Go stated regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's public address to the nation released the previous day, "I thought there was a gap between the general public's opinion and the statement."

Lee Ho-young, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency, who is acting commissioner in charge of Commissioner Jo, also responded "I think so" to the question from Democratic Party lawmaker Seong-gon Wi, "Is the December 3 emergency martial law unconstitutional?" In response to the same question, Choi Hyun-seok, Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who is acting commissioner for Commissioner Kim, said, "I believe there is sufficient unconstitutionality."

Meanwhile, when Democratic Party lawmaker Kyung-jong Mo demanded an apology on behalf of the police that day, Deputy Commissioner Lee stood up and bowed 90 degrees in apology. Then, when Democratic Party lawmaker Sang-sik Lee proposed including a constitutional law subject in the police promotion exam, Deputy Commissioner Lee said, "I will consider it."