55 Gyeongbidan Responds to the Corruption Investigation Office with 'Yoon Residence Access Permission'

Gongsoocheo receives entry permission from the 55th Security Unit
Execution of the second arrest warrant for President Yoon expected at 5 a.m. on the 15th
Up to 1,000 police officers may be mobilized for warrant execution

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Gongsoocheo), which is preparing for the second execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol, announced on the 14th that it had received permission for entry from the 55th Security Unit, which is responsible for guarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's residence, to carry out the warrant execution.

Gongsoocheo stated in a press release that afternoon, "Today, we sent an official letter to the 55th Security Unit requesting entry for prosecutors and investigators belonging to Gongsoocheo, investigators from the National Investigation Headquarters, and investigators from the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters to execute the arrest warrant." They added, "The 55th Security Unit replied that entry to the requested address was permitted." The 55th Security Unit is the unit responsible for outer perimeter security within the residence.

As the second execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to be imminent, on the morning of the 14th, an employee presumed to be from the Security Office was patrolling the premises at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 12th, Gongsoocheo had sent official letters to the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential Security Service requesting cooperation for the execution of the arrest warrant. In the letter, Gongsoocheo stated, "We request thorough management and cooperation to prevent any illegal acts such as mobilizing personnel from the Security Service for tasks outside their official duties or providing equipment and facilities." Furthermore, they said, "In the case of Security Service employees, even if they do not comply with unlawful orders to obstruct the execution of the warrant, there will be no consequences such as charges of dereliction of duty or other penalties for non-compliance."

Meanwhile, the likely time for the execution of the second arrest warrant for President Yoon is 5 a.m. on the 15th. Inside and outside the police force, it is expected that up to 1,000 police officers will be mobilized for the execution of the second warrant against President Yoon.