Prosecutors Secure President Yoon's Custody, Likely to Request Arrest Warrant Within 48 Hours

On the 15th, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gong-su-cheo) succeeded in securing the custody of President Yoon Seok-yeol, drawing attention to the upcoming investigation into the emergency martial law situation. It is highly anticipated that Gong-su-cheo will first proceed with the investigation of President Yoon and then file an arrest warrant with the court.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is arriving at the Gwacheon Office of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on the 15th, when the execution of the second arrest warrant was underway. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

Gong-su-cheo plans to arrest President Yoon at the presidential residence and escort him to the Gong-su-cheo office located in the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, where he will be interrogated in person as a suspect of leading a rebellion and abuse of power. Since Gong-su-cheo has already received and analyzed investigation records from the prosecution concerning related individuals accused of conspiring in the rebellion, including former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who was indicted and detained for important duties related to the rebellion, it is expected that the investigation of President Yoon will not take a long time to complete. In particular, since President Yoon’s side has already announced their intention to exercise the right to remain silent, the investigation is likely to conclude early, accelerating the process of filing an arrest warrant and prosecution.

Investigation in Video-recorded Interrogation Room... Possibility of President Yoon Exercising the Right to Silence

On the 15th, when the second arrest warrant execution for President Yoon Seok-yeol was underway, the vehicle carrying President Yoon arrived at the Gwacheon Office of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

Before interrogating President Yoon, Gong-su-cheo prepared a separate interrogation room equipped with rest facilities. It is known that the investigation will be conducted with video recording, directly involving the lead prosecutor Cha Jeong-hyun, head of the Investigation Division 4. After the investigation, President Yoon is expected to be detained at Seoul Detention Center. President Yoon is accused of attempting to obstruct the lifting of martial law by blocking the National Assembly, ordering the arrest of key figures such as Representative Lee Jae-myung and former Representative Han Dong-hoon, and attempting to seize the Central Election Commission and steal servers.

Regarding the facts of the charges against President Yoon, Gong-su-cheo stated, "The suspect, as the opposition-led National Assembly continuously pushed for impeachment of government officials, drastic cuts to the government budget, and the appointment of a special prosecutor concerning allegations of stock manipulation involving the president’s spouse, declared martial law together with Kim Yong-hyun and paralyzed the functions of the National Assembly."

Gong-su-cheo also wrote, "Regarding the 22nd National Assembly election held on April 10, 2024, the suspect planned to seize the Central Election Commission and related election data under the pretext of allegations of election fraud through computer manipulation, and decided to arrest and detain public officials affiliated with the Central Election Commission as election offenders."

Regarding the conditions for declaring martial law, Gong-su-cheo recorded, "Around December 3, 2024, there were no special circumstances indicating signs of war, emergency situations equivalent to war, or extreme disruption of social order that would make the performance of administrative and judicial functions significantly difficult." It further stated, "Despite knowing that the conditions for declaring martial law were not met, the suspect conspired with Kim Yong-hyun and collaborated with the Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung, Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, Special Forces Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun, Intelligence Command Commander Moon Sang-ho, and Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho to plan martial law without the necessary conditions."

Arrest Warrant Likely to be Filed Within 48 Hours

There is no disagreement in the legal community that the declaration of martial law in this case does not meet the constitutional and martial law act requirements. Therefore, Gong-su-cheo is highly likely to file an arrest warrant immediately after investigating President Yoon. The deadline for the arrest warrant is 48 hours from the time of arrest. Given that suspects involved in the rebellion, including former Minister Kim, have been consecutively detained, it is generally expected in the legal community that an arrest warrant for President Yoon, accused of leading the rebellion, will also be issued. The court to which the arrest warrant will be submitted could be either the Seoul Western District Court, which issued the arrest warrant, or the Seoul Central District Court, due to jurisdictional disputes.

Meanwhile, regardless of the investigation into President Yoon’s rebellion charges, the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial procedure will proceed separately. According to the Constitutional Court Act, when a criminal trial is underway for the same reasons as the impeachment trial against the respondent, the court may suspend the impeachment trial. However, the Constitutional Court plans to proceed with the impeachment trial regardless of the investigation agency’s indictment or the court’s trial results concerning the rebellion charges.