"Certain They Won't Reach Arrest Warrant Execution"
"Rampaging Recklessly Like Crazy"
"Must Consider Public Sentiment Confusion"
Attorney Seok Dong-hyun, known as President Yoon Suk-yeol's friend of 40 years, criticized the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (PCC) for attempting to execute an arrest warrant against President Yoon.
On the 3rd, Attorney Seok opened his remarks on his social media account, saying, "At this moment, PCC staff have entered the main gate of the presidential residence, but I am confident that they will not be able to carry out the arrest warrant today." He added, "However, seeing the situation before my eyes, I feel that the PCC is acting insanely with an unprecedented level of arrogance and lawlessness."
He continued, "There has not yet been any judicial evaluation of the current political situation," and argued, "If the PCC arrests and detains the sitting president based on an arrest warrant that is merely a shortsighted judgment by a single judge, they should at least consider the negative repercussions that would arise from that act itself and the emotional confusion that 50 million ordinary citizens and 7.5 million overseas Koreans worldwide would experience. (They cannot do this)." He emphasized, "The head of the PCC is a former judge with no investigative experience, and the available investigative personnel are only a few. They should not act so frivolously and recklessly."
A vehicle carrying investigators from the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division, who came to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol, arrived on the 3rd at the entrance of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, while police riot control buses are parked double-parked. Photo by Jo Yong-jun
Meanwhile, the PCC departed from the Government Complex Gwacheon around 6:14 a.m. on the same day, divided into five vehicles to execute the arrest warrant against President Yoon. Due to traffic congestion and other factors, they arrived at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, around 7:24 a.m., but are currently in a standoff with the Presidential Security Service. Supporters reportedly held a large-scale rally surrounding the residence.
In a statement released to reporters, Attorney Yoon Gap-geun of President Yoon's legal team claimed, "If the PCC executed an unconstitutional and illegal warrant with police cooperation, they have committed the criminal act of illegal detention under Article 124 of the Criminal Act." He added, "If physical clashes occur during the execution process, the PCC and police would have committed the crimes of abuse of authority and obstruction of official duties." Furthermore, he stated, "There is no precedent in constitutional history worldwide where the exercise of 'national emergency powers' such as martial law against a 'president' has been punished as treason. Labeling the president as a traitor is a treasonous accusation by forces aiming to disrupt the national order." He argued, "The PCC, which does not have the authority to investigate treason, requesting and obtaining the warrant is null and void, and executing it is also illegal. Evidence obtained through the illegal execution of the warrant loses all evidentiary value as illegally collected evidence." He also emphasized, "Excluding the application of Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act is clearly a suspension of the law's effect by the judge's decision. Only the Constitutional Court can make judgments and decisions that suspend the effect of laws; everything else falls within the legislative domain."
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