Police Arrest Lee Kwang-woo, Head of Security, for 'Blocking Yoon's Arrest'... "Performing Legitimate Duty"

Appeared at 9:45 a.m. on the 18th

The police have arrested Lee Kwang-woo, the head of the Presidential Security Service's Security Headquarters, on charges of leading the obstruction of the arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Director Lee Kwang-woo of the Presidential Security Service heading to the investigation room. Photo by Yonhap News

The National Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit announced that it executed the arrest warrant for Director Lee at 10:03 a.m. on the 18th. Director Lee had previously ignored three summonses.

At around 9:45 a.m. on the same day, Director Lee appeared at the National Police Agency's investigation headquarters and told reporters, "I will sincerely cooperate with the investigation," adding, "The Security Service was only performing its legitimate duties within the security zone."

The police initially planned to execute the second arrest warrant for President Yoon on the 15th along with Director Lee, but they refrained from doing so after receiving a promise that Director Lee would appear with his lawyer after completing the presidential security duties.

Deputy Director Kim Seong-hoon, whose arrest was postponed, was arrested immediately after appearing at the police station the previous day and was summoned again at 9:30 a.m., undergoing investigation for two consecutive days.