Court Denies Extension of Yoon's Detention... Ruling Party Demands "Immediate Release," Opposition Calls for "Detention and Prosecution" (Comprehensive)

People Power Party: "Investigation Should Resume While Not in Custody"
Democratic Party: "Detention Within the Legal Period Is Sufficient"

The Seoul Central District Court's refusal to extend the detention period of President Yoon Seok-yeol has elicited contrasting responses from the ruling and opposition parties. The People Power Party called for an immediate investigation of President Yoon, while the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, urged the prosecution to detain him within the detention period.

On the 24th, the People Power Party stated regarding the Seoul Central District Court's refusal to extend President Yoon's detention period, "We strongly urge the immediate release of President Yoon and the resumption of a lawful investigation while he remains out of custody in accordance with proper procedures."

Yonhap News

Shin Dong-wook, the chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that "today's ruling by the Seoul Central District Court has put a stop to the plan by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the prosecution to divide the investigation period and proceed with supplementary investigations before indictment," adding, "It can be said that the court has effectively proven that the CIO's investigation was a 'shoddy investigation' from the start."

He added, "The CIO, which originally had no authority to investigate treason, has undermined the criminal justice system of the Republic of Korea from the ground up by obsessively seeking the arrest of the sitting president through manipulative means such as 'judge shopping' to obtain an arrest warrant," and said, "The CIO, including Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woon, must bear strong legal responsibility. Since the CIO only arrested President Yoon without conducting a sufficient lawful investigation to determine whether to indict, it is practically impossible for the prosecution to indict based solely on the CIO's investigation records."

The Democratic Party requested, "The prosecution should indict Yoon Seok-yeol within the detention period to meet the expectations of the people." Jo Seung-rae, the chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, conveyed the news of the Seoul Central District Court's refusal to extend the detention period in a written statement, saying, "Although the extension of the detention period was denied, it is sufficient to indict within that period."

He said, "Currently, evidence to prove Yoon Seok-yeol's charge of treason as the ringleader 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."

Kim Bo-hyeop, chief spokesperson for the Innovation Party for Justice, commented on the court's decision, saying, "Even without Yoon Seok-yeol's uncooperative testimony, the statements of those already detained and indicted for major treason duties and the secured objective evidence sufficiently prove Yoon's treason. This means he should be immediately detained and indicted," and urged, "The prosecution should not hesitate or waste time pursuing futile efforts but should immediately detain and indict Yoon Seok-yeol in accordance with law and principles. Since the detention period started counting from January 15, when Yoon was arrested, the indictment must be made by tomorrow at the latest."

He further stated regarding the possibility of President Yoon's release, "There will never be a case where Yoon Seok-yeol, the ringleader of treason, is released within the criminal justice system."

According to the prosecution, the court stated, "In cases where a prosecutor from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) investigates crimes related to high-ranking officials and submits a request for indictment along with documents and evidence to a prosecutor at the prosecution office, it is difficult to find sufficient reason for the prosecution office prosecutor who receives these materials to continue the investigation."

The court cited as grounds the legislative intent of the CIO Act, which established the CIO to independently investigate crimes by high-ranking officials, the purpose of separating investigation and prosecution to ensure fairness, as applied between the CIO and the prosecution office under Article 26 of the CIO Act, and the absence of explicit provisions in the CIO Act regarding the scope or existence of supplementary investigation authority for prosecutors affiliated with 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.