The Democratic Party of Korea on the 25th requested, regarding the Seoul Central District Court's refusal to extend the detention period of President Yoon Seok-yeol, that "the prosecution indict Yoon Seok-yeol within the detention period to meet the public's expectations."
Cho Seung-rae, the senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, conveyed the news of the court's refusal to extend the detention period through a written statement on the same day, saying, "Although the extension of the detention period was denied, it is sufficient to indict within that period."
He stated, "Currently, evidence to prove Yoon Seok-yeol's charge of rebellion leader has been sufficiently secured through investigations involving former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Martial Law Commander Park An-su, former Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, former Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung, former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun, and former National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho."
According to the prosecution, the court stated, "In cases where a High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) prosecutor investigates a case involving high-ranking officials' crimes and attaches a request for indictment, sending the documents and evidence to a prosecutor at the prosecution office, it is difficult to see a substantial reason for the prosecution office prosecutor, who receives these, to continue the investigation while deciding whether to indict."
The court cited as grounds the legislative intent of the HOCI Act, which established the HOCI to investigate crimes of high-ranking officials independently; the purpose of ensuring fairness in investigations by separating investigation and prosecution and applying this separation between the HOCI and the prosecution office as stipulated in Article 26 of the HOCI Act; and the absence of explicit provisions in the HOCI Act regarding the supplementary investigation authority or scope of prosecutors belonging to the prosecution office.
Earlier, the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law requested the court to extend President Yoon's detention period until the 6th of next month.
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