"Yoon Also Must Guarantee Right to Defense... Voluntary Investigation, Not Detention, Should Be the Principle"

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The People Power Party argued that the judiciary should guarantee President Yoon Seok-yeol appropriate defense rights, just as in ordinary cases.

Yonhap News

On the 6th, Shin Dong-wook, the chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, met with reporters after concluding the Emergency Response Committee meeting at the National Assembly and said, "Our position so far is that the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI), which does not have investigative authority, conducted the investigation, and there are serious defects in the court's issuance of the warrant." He added, "By saying voluntary investigation, we mean that the president should also be guaranteed appropriate defense rights just like in ordinary cases." This was in response to a question about whether Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kwon Young-se's mention of voluntary investigation methods meant opposition to the issuance of an arrest warrant for President Yoon.

Earlier, Chairman Kwon said at the meeting, "If the HOCI is a genuine investigative agency, it should not be swayed by the Democratic Party's political agitation but should consider national dignity and conduct investigations voluntarily within the bounds of the law."

Chief Spokesperson Shin emphasized, "Voluntary investigation is the principle, not detention investigation," and added, "The party's decision is, first, that it is right for an investigative agency with proper investigative authority to conduct the investigation, and second, to uphold the presumption of innocence and the principle of voluntary investigation."

Regarding reports that the People Power Party is considering having President Yoon questioned by the police at a third location such as his residence, he responded, "The party leadership has neither discussed nor reviewed the investigation method or location," and said, "The investigation method is a matter to be decided by the investigative agency and the president's legal team."

When asked about the People Power Party saying that Representative Lee Jae-myung should not call for equality before the law, but whether President Yoon's non-cooperation with the warrant is also unequal before the law, he replied, "It is hard to accept that they avoided the Seoul Central District Court and obtained a warrant from the Western District Court, where there is only one warrant judge." He added, "If they had gone to the Central District Court and obtained a warrant properly, it would be understandable, but an investigative agency without proper authority is trying to execute a warrant obtained through strange and irregular means, which I do not consider normal law enforcement."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party plans to hold a high-level party-government consultation meeting on the 8th to review financial market trends and industrial and trade issues. Additionally, former People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook has been nominated as the new head of the Yeouido Institute.