Prosecutors Raid National Investigation Headquarters and Yeongdeungpo Police Station on Charges of 'Martial Law Arrest Team' Activities

The prosecution investigating the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' launched an all-out search of the police on the 19th in connection with allegations of arrest squad activities at the time of the martial law declaration.

The Prosecution Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Headquarters (Head: Park Se-hyun, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office) stated, "We are conducting searches of the National Investigation Headquarters, Yeongdeungpo Police Station, and the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters officials regarding allegations of arrest squad activities during the martial law."

On the afternoon of the 19th, the prosecution investigating the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' is conducting a search and seizure at the Investigation Planning and Coordination Office of the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (Guksubon) in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The prosecution is reportedly securing materials related to the arrest squad suspicions from the National Investigation Headquarters' Investigation Planning Coordination Office and others.

The National Investigation Headquarters is suspected of supporting the 'arrest squad' with violent crime detectives to detain key political figures at the request of the Military Counterintelligence Command after President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law on the 3rd.

Regarding this, the National Investigation Headquarters admitted that around 11:32 p.m. on the day of the martial law, the Counterintelligence Command contacted a National Investigation Headquarters official, stating that "the situation at the Yeouido site is chaotic," and requested a list of police officers to guide the scene, providing a list of 10 violent crime detectives, but did not disclose whether the personnel were actually deployed on site.

On the other hand, the prosecution is investigating after detecting circumstances that the police actually sent 10 violent crime detectives from frontline police stations to wait for deployment in front of the National Assembly as requested by the Counterintelligence Command.