"Public Corruption Investigation Office, Attacking Without Knowing What's What"
Suspicions Raised About 'Possible Behind-the-Scenes Forces'
After the 12·3 Martial Law incident, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who has represented President Yoon's stance from the outside, fiercely criticized the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) for attempting to execute an arrest warrant, saying, "Ignorance makes one brave."
On the 4th, Lawyer Seok posted an article titled "The reason and background why the HCIA chief is coming out so boldly" on Facebook. In the post, he said, "The HCIA has a short history, few staff members, and very limited investigation cases or experience," and raised his voice, saying, "They are summoning the sitting president on a holiday morning like Red Guards, and when he doesn't come, they threaten to arrest him." He continued, "When you don't know much, you don't know, so you recklessly tackle big issues out of ignorance," and strongly criticized, "The saying 'ignorance makes one brave' would be such an expression."
Attorney Seok Dong-hyun, who participated in the defense team of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is facing impeachment trial over the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law Incident,' is stating his position in front of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 19th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News
Then, Lawyer Seok sarcastically said, "Under the HCIA Act, the HCIA does not have the authority to investigate treason," adding, "So, anyone who has been in law school for about two years would immediately know that all requests or issuances of arrest warrants are illegal." He also said, "It's one thing that such a person (the HCIA chief) dares to investigate the sitting president as a traitor by violating legal provisions, but especially during the national mourning period and with a large-scale Minnochoong rally scheduled in front of the presidential residence in the afternoon, I was honestly surprised, even as a former chief prosecutor, to see a small agency like the HCIA mobilize thousands of police riot squad personnel to arrest the president at the residence from early morning yesterday."
At the end of the post, Lawyer Seok raised suspicions, saying, "Whether it is because of ignorance making one brave or because the HCIA chief is a prisoner of ideology, I strongly feel that the HCIA chief's undertaking of such an unimaginably bold act is not solely his own judgment and capability."
Meanwhile, President Yoon's legal representatives issued a statement the day before, claiming, "If the HCIA executed an illegal warrant and the police cooperated, then the HCIA and the police have committed illegal detention under the Criminal Act." It was reported that lawyers Kim Hong-il and Yoon Gap-geun from President Yoon's side met with HCIA officials in front of the presidential residence the day before and discussed submitting a power of attorney soon and then negotiating the subsequent procedures. However, as of the morning of the 4th, it was understood that the power of attorney had not yet been submitted to the HCIA.
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