"Western District Court Was the First to Receive President Yoon's Arrest Warrant"
"Oh Dongwoon Is Not a Member of the Uri Beop Research Association... Do Not Mislead With Falsehoods"
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit confirmed that it did request a communication warrant from the Seoul Central District Court for President Yoon Seok-yeol during the investigation of the December 3 emergency martial law case, but stated that President Yoon was not the subject of the search and seizure warrant.
On the 21st, the Unit explained this in a statement released to the media. Earlier, President Yoon's side held a press conference in the afternoon, claiming that "the Unit engaged in warrant shopping by requesting search and seizure and communication warrants for President Yoon from the Central District Court, and after they were dismissed, requested an arrest warrant from the Seoul Western District Court."
Odongwoon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, is responding to lawmakers' questions during an emergency inquiry on the illegal riot incident at the Seoul Western District Court held at the National Assembly plenary session on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
The Unit explained, "We requested search and seizure warrants naming three others besides President Yoon and four others besides President Yoon as suspects from the Central District Court, as well as communication warrants for 32 people including President Yoon. However, the targets of the search and seizure at that time were former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, key commanders, the Ministry of National Defense, the Martial Law Command, and the National Election Commission, and did not include the President, the Presidential Residence, or the Presidential Office." While it is true that President Yoon was named as a suspect in the search and seizure warrant, the actual targets of the search and seizure were not President Yoon.
However, it was confirmed that communication warrants including President Yoon were requested from the Central District Court. The Unit emphasized, "There is absolutely no mention in the reasons for dismissal that the Unit lacks investigative authority over the crime of insurrection," adding, "The jurisdiction over warrants and investigative authority have already been confirmed multiple times by both the Central District Court and the Western District Court without any issues."
Regarding the search and seizure and communication warrants requested from the Central District Court but dismissed, it was explained that the reasons cited included "duplicate requests for identical or similar warrants, so coordination among investigative agencies is requested," and "the warrant is dismissed with the expectation that it will be re-requested after clarifying coordination with the police."
The Unit further stated, "There was no request for an arrest or detention warrant naming President Yoon as the subject from the Central District Court," and "the arrest and detention warrant for President Yoon requested from the Western District Court was the first such request." In response to claims that previous warrant requests were omitted when requesting President Yoon's arrest warrant, the Unit rebutted, "The records for President Yoon's arrest and detention warrants included all prior warrant requests."
Regarding President Yoon's side's claim that "Chief Oh Dong-woon is a member of the Uri Beop Research Association, and thus the warrant was requested from the Western District Court, which is dominated by members of the Uri Beop Research Association," the Unit stated, "Chief Oh is not a member of the Uri Beop Research Association," and strongly urged, "Do not mislead with falsehoods."
The Unit requested President Yoon's arrest warrant from the Western District Court on December 30 of last year, citing the fact that President Yoon resides in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Western District Court.
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