"Did Yoon Seok-yeol and Cho Kuk Meet at Seoul Detention Center?"... The Answer Given by the Innovation Party to the Question

Joguk Innovation Party: "No Encounter Due to Spatial Separation"

President Yoon Suk-yeol was escorted to Seoul Detention Center, where former leader of the Joguk Innovation Party, Cho Guk, is serving his sentence, drawing attention to whether the two will meet.

Earlier, on the 3rd, after the first attempt to execute an arrest warrant against President Yoon failed, former leader Cho sent a letter to lawmakers expressing regret, saying, "I was expecting to meet 'Yoon (President Yoon Suk-yeol)' at Seoul Detention Center, but it was canceled." Since then, there has been curiosity about whether former leader Cho has encountered President Yoon.

Former Representative of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk (left), and President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group, joint coverage by Yonhap News Agency

In response, on the 16th, Kim Bo-hyeop, chief spokesperson for the Joguk Innovation Party, stated in a briefing, "The traitor Yoon Suk-yeol was detained at Seoul Detention Center yesterday (the 15th), but there was no meeting or encounter with former leader Cho," adding, "The space where President Yoon temporarily stays during the arrest stage is spatially separated from former leader Cho." He also said, "There might be a message through a letter or a visit from former leader Cho this afternoon," and "If we receive it, we will disclose it immediately."

President Yoon, who was arrested at the Han-nam-dong residence in Seoul on the morning of the 15th and transferred to Seoul Detention Center after about 10 hours and 40 minutes of investigation, is currently staying in the detainee waiting area within the detention center, known as the detainee living room. The detainee living room is located near the security and office area, separated from the cell block where inmates are held.

Having exercised his right to remain silent throughout the investigation, President Yoon expressed his intention not to attend the second investigation scheduled for the 16th. His side also filed a motion for a review of the legality of the arrest with the Seoul Central District Court. The case has been assigned to a single criminal judge at the Seoul Central District Court.

Meanwhile, former leader Cho was sentenced by the Supreme Court last month on the 12th to two years in prison and a fine of 6 million won for charges including admission fraud involving his children, resulting in the immediate loss of his parliamentary seat. He was incarcerated at Seoul Detention Center on the 16th, four days later.

A letter sent from prison by former leader of the National Innovation Party, Cho Kuk. Facebook of Assemblyman Jeong Chunsang