Acting Commissioner General of Police: Thorough Investigation Needed into Martial Law Troops' 'Parliament Power Cut'

Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency Lee Ho-young stated on the 18th that he “agrees that a thorough investigation is necessary” regarding the military’s power outage measure at the National Assembly on the day of the December 3 emergency martial law.

Jeong Chun-saeng, member of the Joguk Innovation Party. Photo by Yonhap News

During the plenary session of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee that day, Acting Commissioner Lee responded to Rep. Jeong Chun-saeng of the Innovation Party’s question that the “(power outage measure) is confirmed evidence of treason aimed at paralyzing the functions of the National Assembly.”

Rep. Jeong pointed out, “President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered to remove [the opposition] before the quorum was met, and in the process of finding a way, the power was cut off. Circumstantially, it was an attempt to obstruct the National Assembly’s vote,” adding, “If the power outage had occurred just a little earlier, the National Assembly would not have been able to pass the resolution to lift martial law.”

Regarding the suspicion of Park Hyun-soo, Acting Commissioner of the Seoul Police Agency, being involved in important duties related to treason, Acting Commissioner Lee said, “I understand that sufficient explanation was given during the state audit. It would be best to wait for the investigation results,” and added, “One person was recommended after prior consultation with the Acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.”

Earlier, controversy arose when Park Hyun-soo, Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, was appointed as the head of the Seoul Police Agency on the 7th. Acting Commissioner Park was appointed to key positions such as the personnel verification team of the Presidential Transition Committee and the National Situation Room of the Presidential Office under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, as well as Director of the Police Intelligence Bureau at the National Police Agency and Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. It was revealed that Acting Commissioner Park had multiple phone calls with Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, and Director of the Police Security Bureau Im Jeong-ju immediately after the declaration of martial law.