Supporting Investigation by Cooperating with Dispatch Requests and More
The military authorities have announced their intention to continue participating in the Joint Investigation Headquarters (Joint HQ), which was formed together with the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to investigate the emergency martial law incident. Despite suspicions that not only the head of the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters but also the deputy director were involved in the martial law, they stated they will fulfill the necessary roles.
A Ministry of National Defense official said on the 20th, "There has been a request for personnel support from the Corruption Investigation Office, and we are in discussions to send investigators. Although no one has been dispatched yet, the Investigation Headquarters is playing its role through such requests and consultations."
Earlier, as the prosecution's investigation into the Investigation Headquarters' involvement in the martial law proceeded, there were expectations that the Investigation Headquarters would be excluded from the martial law investigation. However, they expressed willingness to actively respond if requested by related investigative agencies.
The military has dispatched military prosecutors to the special prosecution headquarters to investigate the emergency martial law incident, and the Investigation Headquarters, which functions as the police within the military, has participated in the Joint HQ. However, since the Investigation Headquarters was supposed to form a Joint Investigation Headquarters according to the organizational system after the martial law was declared, there was controversy over whether it was appropriate as the investigative body. Additionally, it is known that former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun attempted to form a 'direct investigation team' separate from the Joint Investigation Headquarters to receive investigation reports personally, and personnel from the Investigation Headquarters were planned to be included in this team.
Due to these suspicions, Park Hyun-su, head of the Investigation Headquarters, and Deputy Director Kim (Colonel) have currently been excluded and separated from investigation-related duties. Park was also subjected to a seizure of his mobile phone by the prosecution the day before.
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