Prosecutors' Office Finalized by Yoon, Investigates Moon Sang-ho over 'Hamburger Meeting'

"25il Gongsucheo" Yoon Summons Followed by Investigation of Moon Sang-ho, Intelligence Commander

Yonhap News

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Hugo), which issued a second summons to President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 25th, is dedicating itself to the investigation even on holidays.

The Hugo Emergency Martial Law Investigation Task Force (TF) mostly came to work on Sunday the 22nd as well, continuing the investigation into President Yoon and others on charges of rebellion and abuse of authority. From around 10 a.m. that day, they summoned and questioned General Mun Sang-ho, Commander of the Intelligence Command, for the first time since his arrest on the 20th on charges including participation in important duties related to rebellion.

Hugo is expected to compile a list of questions to interrogate President Yoon based on direct investigations of General Mun and other individuals related to the emergency martial law, as well as investigation records received from the police.

Currently, President Yoon is fully denying the rebellion charges, claiming that the declaration of emergency martial law is a political act not subject to judicial review. Accordingly, Hugo is likely to focus its investigative efforts on proving the purpose of 'disturbing the constitutional order' by determining whether the military and police were deployed with the intent to neutralize constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission.

However, Hugo has not yet received investigation materials from the prosecution regarding military leadership figures such as former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung, and Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun. Although the prosecution agreed on the 18th to transfer the cases involving President Yoon and former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min to Hugo, the case files have not yet been handed over.

This appears to be due to the time required to organize the materials, and both sides are continuing to negotiate the specific scope of information sharing.

The joint investigation headquarters, composed of Hugo and the police, has sent a summons to President Yoon, requesting that he appear at Hugo's office in the Government Complex Gwacheon at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day, the 25th, to be questioned as a suspect. The summons was sent via express mail and electronic official documents to three locations: the President’s residence, the Presidential Secretariat’s General Affairs Secretary’s office, and the Presidential Office annex. The mail is expected to arrive around Monday.