President Yoon Leaves Residence Saying, "I Will Fight to the End with the People"

Jung Jin-seok: "We Requested Voluntary Appearance,
But the CIO Did Not Relent"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a national address regarding his appearance at the Corruption Investigation Office on the 15th. Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol, the first sitting president in constitutional history to be arrested, left the presidential residence on the 15th, saying, "I will fight to the end with the people."

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, stated that before President Yoon left the residence, he left a final message saying, "What is most important to me at this moment is that the people do not get hurt. I will fight to the end with the people."

Chief Jung said, "We said we would voluntarily appear, but the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said they could not give up executing the arrest warrant," adding, "therefore, the president said, 'The most important thing is that the people do not get hurt,' and decided to comply with the arrest."

It is known that Chief Jung, along with lawyer Yoon Gap-geun, met with the investigation team at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, urging them not to execute the arrest warrant and advocating for President Yoon's voluntary appearance.

The Presidential Office will also hold an emergency senior meeting at 2 p.m. on the same day, chaired by Chief Jung. It is expected that they will discuss follow-up response measures now that President Yoon has been arrested.

Earlier, Chief Jung and senior aides of the Presidential Office had tendered their resignations immediately after the declaration of martial law and following the appointment of Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, as a Constitutional Court justice.