Amid allegations that the Presidential Security Service held its 60th anniversary event in the form of a birthday party for President Yoon Suk-yeol, it has been confirmed that the Security Service paid encouragement money to police officers who participated in the birthday song choir for President Yoon.
On the 25th, the National Police Agency revealed in materials submitted to Baek Hye-ryun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and part of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Investigating the Truth Behind the Yoon Suk-yeol Government's Declaration of Martial Law and Treason Charges, that 47 police officers participated in the choir at the request of the Security Service.
The National Police Agency explained in the materials, "It has been confirmed that 47 police officers who participated in the choir each received 300,000 won in encouragement money from the Security Service."
Earlier, on the 22nd, Representative Baek stated at the special committee hearing that she had received a tip that the Security Service called not only nursing officers but also female police officers to the choir event and paid 300,000 won each as encouragement money, which the National Police Agency has now confirmed as true.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the 4th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. January 23, 2025 Photo by Joint Press Corps
According to the National Police Agency, the police officers mobilized for the choir event belonged to assigned security units: 29 officers from the 101 Security Unit responsible for guarding the Yongsan Presidential Office building, 10 officers from the 202 Security Unit guarding the presidential residence perimeter, and 8 officers from the 22 Security Unit providing close protection to the president. Among them, 11 were female officers: 5 from the 101 Security Unit, 2 from the 202 Security Unit, and 4 from the 22 Security Unit.
Separately from those who participated in the choir, 92 police officers (56 from the 101 Security Unit, 24 from the 202 Security Unit, and 12 from the 22 Security Unit) attended the event as observers at the request of the Security Service. Combining the choir members and observers, a total of 139 police officers attended the event.
Representative Baek said, "Mobilizing a large number of military and police personnel to hold a birthday party and systematically creating and singing tribute songs is something that only happened during military dictatorship eras or in North Korea," adding, "There is a high possibility that the Security Service used the budget for the 60th anniversary event or special activity funds to pay encouragement money to the choir, so an investigation is necessary."
Earlier, opposition parties criticized the Security Service for holding a birthday party for President Yoon on December 18, 2023, his birthday, during the 60th anniversary commemorative event by mobilizing staff, military, and police to sing the president’s birthday song and create acrostic poems using the president’s name.
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