The National Police Agency requests criminal dispatch during martial law "In plain clothes to avoid looking like police"

The National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Headquarters, together with the Defense Counterintelligence Command, requested the dispatch of detectives from frontline police stations to form an arrest team for the National Assembly, and it has been confirmed that they ordered plainclothes attire to conceal their identities.

According to the indictment against President Yoon Seok-yeol on charges of rebellion, submitted by the Ministry of Justice on the 3rd to the office of Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the prosecution included this information as evidence that the police Criminal Investigation Headquarters participated in forming a 'joint arrest team against anti-state forces.'

The prosecution revealed that Lee Hyun-il, head of the investigation planning division at the Criminal Investigation Headquarters, received a request around 11:32 PM on the day of martial law from Gu In-hoe, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command's investigation coordination division, to support the arrest of former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung with 100 police officers and 20 escort vehicles, and reported this to Jeon Chang-hoon, investigation planning officer, and Yoon Seung-young, investigation planning coordinator.

Yonhap News

In response, Officer Jeon called Kim Kyung-gyu, head of the investigation division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to ask if they could provide 100 investigators and 20 vehicles at the Seoul agency level to supplement personnel for the joint investigation headquarters with the military. Upon receiving this report, Im Kyung-woo, head of the investigation department at the Seoul agency, instructed in a group chat including the chief investigators of the metropolitan investigation unit to "prepare lists of 20 active investigators below the rank of inspector per division who can be deployed for investigations at any time and have them on standby in the office."

At around 1:26 AM on December 4th, Chief Im received a report titled 'Status of Metropolitan Investigation Unit Inspectors and Below on Emergency Standby,' listing a total of 104 personnel, including 24 investigators from the metropolitan investigation unit, and it was revealed that 81 of them were kept on standby in the office.

Additionally, Coordinator Yoon reported to Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho that the Defense Counterintelligence Command requested support of investigators and vehicles, stating, "They are asking for personnel necessary for investigation or arrest activities around the National Assembly and five members for the Han Dong-hoon arrest team." Subsequently, when Coordinator Yoon instructed Officer Lee to "send the list to the Defense Counterintelligence Command since the Police Commissioner has been informed," Officer Lee made four phone calls to the head of the detective division at Yeongdeungpo Police Station to request the dispatch of detectives necessary to form the arrest team.

Officer Lee was understood to have said, "The Defense Counterintelligence Command will send an arrest team to the National Assembly, and detectives are needed to lead and move with them," adding, "Send them in plainclothes so it is not obvious they are police, and text me the names and phone numbers of five people." Later, he requested "an additional five people," and after receiving a list of 10 police officers from the detective division chief, he sent text messages twice to the Defense Counterintelligence Command with the names of 10 members of the violent crimes team at Yeongdeungpo Station and the contact information of two people, labeled as the 'Criminal Investigation Headquarters Support Personnel List.'