Kwon Young-se "Illegal Warrant Execution Cannot Be Justified by Yoon's Arrest... Will Hold Responsible Until the End"

Sitting President Arrested by Investigative Authorities for the First Time
Kwon: "Did it really have to come to this?"

On the 15th, Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, commented on the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol, stating, "To prevent physical clashes between state institutions, despite the illegal execution of the arrest warrant, the President made a great decision," and added, "We will hold those responsible for the illegal execution of the warrant accountable to the end."

At an emergency party members' meeting held at the National Assembly after the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon, Chairman Kwon said, "I want to make it clear that the fact that the President was arrested does not justify the illegality."

On the early morning of the 15th, when the execution of the second arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol began, the leadership of the People Power Party, including Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kwon Young-se and Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong, held an emergency emergency response committee meeting at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gongsoocheo) and the police executed the arrest warrant for President Yoon at 10:33 a.m. that day. This is the first time in constitutional history that a sitting president has been arrested by investigative authorities. Chairman Kwon stated, "From early this morning, the behavior of Gongsoocheo and the police has been a series of illegal acts, ignoring the procedural fairness of law and principles, recklessly pushing forward with abnormal and unreasonable actions. The public must have felt shock, anger, and despair witnessing this," and questioned, "Did it have to come to this?"

Chairman Kwon criticized, "Due to the vain ambition of Gongsoocheo and the police, the national dignity of the Republic of Korea has fallen to the ground," and pointed out, "Gongsoocheo, which does not have the authority to investigate treason, even engaged in judge shopping to request and forcibly execute the warrant to demonstrate political influence." He also emphasized, "The President has clearly stated that if an investigative agency with authority lawfully executes the law, he will comply, and if a pre-arrest warrant is requested, he will respond to the review. However, the reason Gongsoocheo insisted on the arrest was clearly to disgrace the President."

Chairman Kwon reported that during Gongsoocheo and police's entry into the presidential residence, clashes with citizens continued, and there were even threats to arrest affiliated lawmakers on the spot as criminals. He added, "We strongly condemn the public authority, which should protect the state and the people, for threatening the people and lawmakers, who are constitutional institutions."

Regarding Gongsoocheo, Chairman Kwon said, "The President's decision must be respected, and there should be no neglect in showing respect to the President," and criticized, "Today's arrest is a tragic trio created by Gongsoocheo without investigative authority, the Western District Court which issued a warrant with many legal issues, and the police colluding with the Democratic Party."