Seoul Police Chief Acting Director: "Spoke with Jo Ji-ho 3 Times... No Connection to Martial Law"

Park Hyun-soo, acting commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated on the 18th that his three phone calls with Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho during the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' were "completely unrelated to the martial law."

Park Jeong-hyun, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the same day, at the plenary session of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Park responded to a question from Park Jeong-hyun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking "Did you have no knowledge of the martial law at all?" by saying, "I have sufficiently explained to the investigative authorities."

When asked, "How did you assist then-Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min?" Park replied, "There was a situation review meeting chaired by the minister," and added, "I reported on the police situation."

When criticized with the question, "You had a meeting with Minister Lee, so is it true that you were not involved?" Park explained, "That meeting was an open meeting with all department and bureau chiefs at the time."

Assemblyman Park criticized, "There is a sufficient possibility that Acting Commissioner Park will be converted into a suspect," and added, "Because of him, the morale of the police organization is declining."

Earlier, controversy arose when Park Hyun-soo, Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, was appointed as the commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan 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 immediately after the martial law declaration with Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, and Police Commissioner Im Jeong-ju, Director of the Police Security Bureau.