Odongwoon, Head of the Corruption Investigation Office, "No Problem at All with President Yoon's Arrest Warrant"

Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), on the 25th rebutted ruling party criticism that it was improper to request an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol at the Seoul Western District Court, saying, "To condemn it as illegal just because it is deemed inappropriate is a statement that undermines the foundation of the rule of law."

Oh said this at the 5th hearing of the National Assembly's 'Special Committee for the Investigation of the Truth Behind the Charge of Rebellion through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government,' stating, "(The warrant was not requested at the Western District Court) because it was dismissed by the Seoul Central District Court."

He explained, "Article 31 of the CIO Act, which specifies the Central District Court's jurisdiction, applies to cases prosecuted by the CIO," adding, "For cases where the CIO only has investigative authority, jurisdiction should be determined according to the principles of the Criminal Procedure Act."

Regarding President Yoon's jurisdiction, he argued, "Since the entire crime scene is Yeouido, the Presidential Office, or the Presidential residence, and the address is Itaewon, jurisdiction lies with the Western District Court," and added, "If the arrest warrant had been requested at the Central District Court, judges might have had more difficulty considering jurisdictional issues."

Odongwoon, Chief of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division, is answering questions related to the so-called 'warrant shopping' controversy at the 5th hearing of the 'Special Committee on the National Investigation into the Alleged Coup Charges through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government' held at the National Assembly on the 25th. 2025.2.25 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

In response to claims that he was a member of the progressive-leaning judges' group Uri Beop Yeonguhoe, he denied, saying, "I have never joined." Regarding allegations of omitting some investigation records, he stated, "No records are missing," and added, "The original copy of the arrest warrant for former Intelligence Command Commander Moon Sang-ho, which is being questioned, is in the records sent to the military court."

Regarding the fact that a communication warrant for President Yoon was requested at the Central District Court and dismissed, yet the office of People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo responded in a written inquiry that "there was no request for President Yoon's warrant at the Central District Court," Oh explained, "I admit that the expression was inappropriate as it was assumed to refer only to the arrest warrant," and added, "Because the chief of the investigation planning office was vacant, it was not properly reviewed, and an external dispatched worker drafted the response, leading to inaccurate expressions."

However, he said, "I informed the Legislative Judiciary Committee about the dismissal of the warrant, and the deputy chief also explained to the media the background of the referral request, mentioning that the dismissal was due to overlapping investigative authority. How can it be said that we concealed this?" and requested, "Please distinguish between inaccurate expressions and hiding facts."

Regarding the controversy over having dinner accompanied by wine with two chief prosecutors in charge on the day the arrest warrant for President Yoon was requested, he claimed, "We had a dinner meeting but did not drink alcohol," and added, "It is true that I poured a glass of wine, but it was a setting where we could not properly drink due to important work."