"This Week, Warrants Must Be Properly Executed"
Park Eun-jung, a lawmaker from the Joguk Innovation Party, stated that Odong-woon, the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI), must personally be present at the scene during the second execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol.
Park, who previously served as the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Officer, appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" on the 7th and said, "Since prosecutors may make judgment errors at the scene, the HOCI chief should take personal responsibility and risk his position by going himself."
Vehicles carrying investigators from the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division, who set out to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol, arrived and are waiting at the entrance of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 3rd, HOCI failed to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon. Subsequently, three days after the first failed attempt, on the 6th, HOCI announced it would delegate the execution of the warrant to the police. However, amid concerns over 'legal controversy,' the police and HOCI agreed to proceed with the warrant execution under a joint investigation headquarters (Joint HQ) system.
Regarding this, Park criticized, "It was a zigzag move revealing HOCI's incompetence and lack of investigative will," adding, "Sending a very pathetic official letter delegating the execution of the arrest warrant on its last valid day without consultation also caused public concern and was a wrong behavior."
On the possibility of reissuing the arrest warrant for President Yoon, she said, "Since the suspect has not been apprehended and the criminal facts remain the same, I believe the court will approve the warrant upon review. Typically, the validity period is extended by about seven days." She continued, "HOCI and the Joint HQ must properly execute the warrant within this week. They cannot afford to delay any longer."
Park stated, "Because the suspect accused of leading a rebellion has not been quickly apprehended, the rebellion situation continues, and the forces sympathizing with the rebellion are increasingly consolidating," adding, "Yesterday, lawmakers from the People Power Party gathered at the presidential residence to obstruct the execution of the arrest warrant. They appeared to be sympathizing with the rebellion, marking themselves, and the public cannot overlook this unconstitutional behavior continuing."
Furthermore, Park claimed that the deployment of the military by the Security Office during the first execution attempt could constitute a military rebellion. She said, "Under the Military Penal Code, this was not a lawful command of soldiers under a proper command structure but an unlawful deployment of the military itself, which is a military rebellion," adding, "Starting from the Security Office, the military was mobilized, and responsibility must be held for this. The head of the Security Office should be promptly detained."
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