Prosecutors, Police, and Corruption Investigation Office Narrow the Net Ahead of Yoon's Summons... Concerns Over Overlapping Investigations Persist

PCC, President Yoon Notified for 2nd Appearance on 25th
Arrest Warrant Likely if Refusal Repeated

As the primary investigative body for President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of being the ringleader of a rebellion, has been designated as the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (PCC), attention is focused on when the summons investigation of President Yoon will take place. Both the PCC and the prosecution and police investigating the current situation are accelerating their investigations, tightening the encirclement around President Yoon.

At the Joint Investigation Headquarters (Joint Headquarters) on the 20th, President Yoon Seok-yeol was notified to appear at the Corruption Investigation Office by 10 a.m. on the 25th. Security guards are guarding the entrance of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Photo by Heo Young-han

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the PCC has requested that President Yoon appear for questioning as a suspect on Christmas Day, the 25th. At present, there is a high possibility that President Yoon’s side will refuse the summons, citing reasons such as the formation of a legal defense team. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who is involved in forming President Yoon’s legal team, previously said regarding the PCC summons, "I believe that once the defense team is fully formed and operational, the public will be informed."

If President Yoon refuses to appear, the PCC is expected to carefully consider the option of requesting an arrest warrant. Investigative agencies typically request an arrest warrant from the court if a suspect fails to appear three times without justifiable reasons. However, this is not a legally fixed number and is decided after comprehensively reviewing the risk of flight or evidence tampering. President Yoon refused the PCC’s summons once on the 18th and is currently under a second summons request. Although the risk of flight is low given his status as president, considering the gravity of the charges and the possibility of evidence tampering, if President Yoon repeatedly refuses to appear, the possibility of an arrest warrant being requested cannot be ruled out. PCC Chief Oh Dong-woon has stated, "Detention investigations are the principle for ringleaders of rebellion and major criminals."

The prosecution and police are also speeding up their investigations. The Special Investigation Unit of the National Police Agency has secured President Yoon’s mobile phone call records and is examining what calls he made to those involved in martial law. It is also known that they have obtained documents that President Yoon handed to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok at the Cabinet meeting held just before the declaration of martial law. The prosecution conducted the first summons investigation of Kim Bong-sik, former Seoul Police Chief, who was transferred on charges of involvement in a major rebellion mission.

However, concerns about overlapping investigations remain. Investigations into the ‘Cabinet meeting’ held before the declaration of martial law, which will be a crucial factor in determining the legality of martial law, appear to be proceeding separately. The prosecution has focused on understanding the situation before and after martial law and the instructions from the presidential office by summoning and investigating figures such as Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, Deputy Prime Minister Choi, and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo. The police have also completed investigations of many attendees and aides at the Cabinet meeting during the martial law declaration, including Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Some Cabinet members have been questioned by both the prosecution and police. The custody of Army Intelligence Command Commander Moon Sang-ho was secured by the PCC on the 20th, while the prosecution conducted an on-site investigation at the Intelligence Command from the 19th to the 20th.

Meanwhile, the PCC has yet to receive case records from the prosecution regarding investigations of military leadership figures such as former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung, and former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun. Since there are testimonies that these individuals received direct contact and orders from President Yoon, reviewing and analyzing these records must precede the investigation of President Yoon. This inevitably means the investigation will take more time. The initial investigative competition that arose at the beginning of the case is now affecting the direct investigation of President Yoon, the core of this situation.