Gongjobon to Request President Yoon's Appearance on the 18th... Charges of Rebellion and Abuse of Power (Comprehensive)

Police Transfer Some Cases to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials

The Joint Investigation Headquarters (Joint Headquarters), which is investigating the ‘12·3 Emergency Martial Law’ incident, has requested President Yoon Seok-yeol to appear at the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Agency (HOCI) at 10 a.m. on the 18th.

On the 16th, the Joint Headquarters announced through the media, “Today, we plan to deliver the summons for President Yoon Seok-yeol to the Presidential Office.” The charges against President Yoon include rebellion and abuse of authority. The Joint Headquarters plans to deliver the summons in person to the General Affairs Secretary Office of the Presidential Office.

The Special Investigation Unit (Special Unit) of the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters has transferred part of the ongoing emergency martial law case to the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Agency (HOCI). This concerns five individuals: President Yoon, former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, Army Chief of Staff Park An-su, and Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung. The remaining cases will continue to be investigated by the Special Unit. A police official explained, “We plan to continue joint investigations by continuously providing materials secured through the emergency martial law investigation to HOCI.”

This transfer decision was made by the National Investigation Headquarters in response to HOCI’s request for a swift and efficient investigation of the emergency martial law case. In particular, it is analyzed as a measure considering that if President Yoon repeatedly refuses to appear without valid reasons, his custody can be forcibly secured through an arrest warrant. Under current regulations, there is no basis for a HOCI prosecutor to request an arrest or detention warrant from the court for warrants applied for by the police, so the warrant must be requested through the prosecution.

The Joint Headquarters is composed of HOCI, the National Investigation Headquarters, and the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters. The Joint Headquarters was launched on the 11th to maximize the strengths of each agency, including HOCI’s legal expertise and authority to request warrants, the National Investigation Headquarters’ investigative experience and capabilities, and the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters’ military expertise.