Gongjobon Arrives at Presidential Office... Attempt to Deliver President Yoon's Attendance Request Letter

Attendance Summons Specifies 'Naeran Udumeri' (Leader of the Rebellion)

The Joint Investigation Headquarters investigating the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law' incident arrived at the Presidential Office on the 16th to deliver a summons for President Yoon Seok-yeol.

President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo by Yonhap News

At around 10:33 a.m. that day, the Joint Headquarters sent four investigators to the Yongsan Presidential Office building, where they completed entry procedures at the civil affairs office.

The Joint Headquarters requested President Yoon to appear at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) at 10 a.m. on the 18th. The summons cited charges against President Yoon including leading a rebellion and obstruction of the exercise of official duties through abuse of power.

The Special Investigation Unit of the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters transferred part of the ongoing emergency martial law case to the CIO at 9 a.m. that day. 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 Investigation Unit.

This transfer decision was made by the National Investigation Headquarters in response to the CIO’s request to ensure a swift and efficient investigation of the emergency martial law case. It is also 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.

The Joint Headquarters is composed of the CIO, the National Investigation Headquarters, and the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters. It was launched on the 11th to maximize the strengths of each institution: the CIO’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.

The police have completed investigations of seven out of eleven State Council members who attended the pre-emergency martial law State Council meeting. A police official explained, “We plan to continue joint investigations while continuously providing materials obtained through the emergency martial law investigation to the CIO.”