Over 30 People from the People Power Party Gather in Front of Yoon's Residence... Claiming "Warrant Execution is Fundamentally Invalid"

Prospect of Reissuing Arrest Warrant for Yoon
Many Pro-Yoon Lawmakers Gather in Front of the Residence
Kim Ki-hyun: "Opposition Should Withdraw Treason Charge from Impeachment Bill"
"Impeachment Bill Review Should Be Suspended and Reconsidered"

About 30 members of the People Power Party (PPP), centered around the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction, gathered in front of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, when the deadline for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) to execute the arrest and search warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol expired.

Around 6 a.m. on the 6th, about 30 PPP lawmakers appeared wearing thick clothes in front of the Volvo Building near the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

As of 8:20 a.m., the number had increased to 36 PPP lawmakers, including Kang Myung-gu, Kang Sun-young, Kang Seung-gyu, Koo Ja-geun, Kwon Young-jin, Kim Ki-hyun, Kim Seok-ki, Kim Seon-kyo, Kim Seung-soo, Kim Wi-sang, Kim Jang-gyeom, Kim Jeong-jae, Park Dae-chul, Park Sung-min, Park Sung-hoon, Park Joon-tae, Park Choong-kwon, Seo Il-jun, Seo Cheon-ho, Song Eon-seok, Eom Tae-young, Yoo Sang-beom, Yoon Sang-hyun, Lee Man-hee, Lee Sang-hwi, Lee In-seon, Lee Jong-wook, Lee Cheol-gyu, Im I-ja, Im Jong-deuk, Jeong Dong-man, Jeong Jeom-sik, Jo Bae-sook, Jo Ji-yeon, Choi Soo-jin, and Choi Eun-seok.

Five former party branch chairpersons?Park Jong-jin, Shin Jae-kyung, Lee Yong, Ha Jong-dae, and Hong Hyeong-seon?also appeared in front of the Hannam-dong residence. Some of them entered the residence, while many were reported to be waiting in front of it.

Lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun took the microphone and said, "The Criminal Procedure Act explicitly states that searches and seizures cannot be conducted at national security facilities without the approval of the administrator, yet the judge issued the warrant including an exception clause allowing searches at their discretion. This defect is serious and clear, rendering the warrant null and void from the outset. Legally, there is a right to refuse such an obviously invalid act."

Earlier, on December 31 of last year, Judge Lee Soon-hyung, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court, issued the search warrant for the presidential residence requested by HOCI, specifying that "Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act do not apply." Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulate that searches and seizures in places related to military secrets or official secrets require permission from the person in charge.

On the 6th, in front of the Presidential Residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, along with other party members, expressed their stance on the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol. The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency sent an official letter to the police, delegating the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon to them. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Lawmaker Kim also said, "The Democratic Party, which stirred up the whole country by impeaching on charges of treason, has revealed the true nature of their fraudulent impeachment by trying to remove treason from the grounds for impeachment. The impeachment is null and void from the outset. The lawmakers with me will do their utmost to fight to ensure that this fraudulent impeachment, which is null and void from the start, does not proceed."

He continued, "It is tantamount to a confession that Lee Jae-myung’s faction is abusing the impeachment system beyond its authority for the purpose of shielding him and forcing an early presidential election. Since there has been a clear and significant change in the grounds for impeachment, the Constitutional Court must dismiss this impeachment, and if the Democratic Party insists there are grounds for impeachment, it is a fundamental constitutional principle that the National Assembly must go through a re-deliberation process."

The National Assembly impeachment prosecution team announced to the Constitutional Court that they would withdraw the charge of treason from the grounds for President Yoon’s impeachment. The PPP argues that if treason is removed, the impeachment bill must be re-deliberated in the National Assembly, criticizing it as a measure to shield Lee Jae-myung. On the same day, Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong, senior lawmakers with four or more terms, and members of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee plan to visit the Constitutional Court to demand a suspension of the impeachment proceedings. They also plan to visit Speaker Woo Won-shik to protest.

However, the party leadership has maintained a cautious stance, saying that the outdoor rally is a matter of "individual lawmakers’ judgment." A party official drew a line on the lawmakers’ visit to the Hannam-dong residence, saying, "It is an individual lawmaker’s decision," and "The leadership has not set any principles."

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