'Waiving Warrant Review' Kim Bongsik, Seoul Police Chief's Lawyer: "He Is Reflecting"

Warrant Hearing Begins on the Afternoon of the 13th
Detention Decision May Be Made by Late Afternoon

The lawyer of Kim Bong-sik, Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who refused to attend the pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review) related to the December 3 emergency martial law incident, stated, "He is reflecting on himself."

Kim Bong-sik, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, is being body-searched at the entrance of the meeting room before attending the plenary session of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the afternoon of the 5th, where urgent inquiries related to the declaration of martial law and responses are being conducted. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 13th at 3 p.m., Nam Cheon-gyu, the warrant-specialized chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, conducted a warrant review hearing for Jo Ji-ho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and Chief Kim, who are accused of engaging in important duties related to rebellion. Since Chief Kim refused to attend, the warrant review for him was replaced by document review.

Attorney Choi Jong-won, who appeared at the court on behalf of Chief Kim, stated, "He is reflecting on himself regarding the occurrence of this outcome."

Earlier, at around 2:22 p.m., Commissioner Jo, who arrived at the court, did not respond to reporters' questions such as "Do you have anything to say to the public?", "Did you ever disobey the President?", and "Is it true that President Yoon ordered the arrest of a member of the National Assembly?" and proceeded to the courtroom. The decision on their detention is expected to be made as early as late that afternoon.

The Special Investigation Unit for Emergency Martial Law under the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency confirmed that Commissioner Jo and Chief Kim had prior knowledge of the emergency martial law from President Yoon Seok-yeol and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, and applied for their arrest warrants on the morning of the 11th.

The police urgently arrested Commissioner Jo and Chief Kim, then forensically examined the mobile phones voluntarily submitted by them and prohibited their departure from the country. A separate burner phone used by Commissioner Jo was also seized.

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