Police Apply for Second Arrest Warrant for Security Chief Who Blocked Yoon's Detention

The police special investigation unit announced on the 24th that they have applied for arrest warrants for Kim Seong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Presidential Security Service, and Lee Kwang-woo, Head of the Security Headquarters, who are suspected of leading the obstruction of the arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol.

This is the second time an arrest warrant has been requested for Deputy Director Kim. The arrest warrant application submitted by the police on the 18th was rejected at the prosecution stage due to lack of evidence destruction and risk of reoffending.

Kim Seong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Presidential Security Service, appeared as a witness at the first hearing of the "Special Committee for the National Assembly Investigation into the Truth of the December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident" held at the National Assembly on the 22nd, responding to Chairman Ahn Gyu-baek's request for cooperation with the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency's search of the presidential residence. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Through supplementary investigations, the police reportedly added charges related to obstructing the execution of the second arrest warrant for President Yoon to the existing 'criminal facts.'

The police secured testimonies from Presidential Security Service employees regarding the preparation of firearms by Deputy Director Kim and Head Lee during the execution of the second arrest warrant.

Deputy Director Kim, considered a 'hardliner' within the Security Service, is seen by the police as needing to be detained due to reasons including ▲attempts to delete communication records from burner phones ▲consideration of firearm use ▲potential retaliation against employees who did not comply with the obstruction.

Hardliner Head Lee was confirmed through police investigation to have moved two MP7 submachine guns and 80 live rounds to the presidential residence ahead of the execution of the second arrest warrant.

In a statement released to the media the previous day, Head Lee admitted to the deployment of submachine guns, stating that on the 11th, four days before the execution of the second arrest warrant, "based on information about illegal arrest squads, two MP7s were placed at the family desk inside the residence to strengthen security."

He also claimed, "The Security Service strengthened guard duties according to the security manual to prepare for large-scale illegal groups invading the residence," arguing that the measures were intended to prepare for protesters, not the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.

Head Lee was also arrested by the police on the 18th but was released the next day, the 19th, without a separate arrest warrant application.