Martial Law Special Prosecutor: "Yoon Sukyeol's Arrest Warrant Leaked by Legal Team... Investigating Circumstances"

Special Prosecution: "All Related Statements Leaked... Will Handle According to Relevant Laws Including Criminal Prosecution"

Former President Yoon Sukyeol is appearing at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the special prosecution team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok is based, on the 5th to undergo the second investigation by the special prosecution for the internal rebellion case. Photo by Yonhap News

The special prosecution team led by Cho Eunseok, which is investigating the 12·3 Martial Law Incident, announced that the arrest warrant for former President Yoon Sukyeol was leaked through his legal team and stated that it would handle the matter strictly.

On July 7, Special Prosecutor Park Jiyoung said, "After the special prosecution submitted the arrest warrant, the defense counsel made a copy at the court, and we have confirmed that the entire warrant, which contained the resident registration number and statements from related parties, was leaked by the defense. We cannot help but express serious concern as all details of the criminal allegations have been disclosed."

She continued, "The leak of a resident registration number is a serious crime, and the exposure of statements from related parties to the media during the investigation can negatively affect the psychology of the witnesses and may be considered obstruction of the investigation. The leak of an individual's statement itself can be punished as a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act and as the disclosure of official secrets under the Criminal Act."

The special prosecution team plans to determine the circumstances of the leak through dispatched police investigators and will handle the matter in accordance with relevant laws, including criminal prosecution and notification to the Bar Association.

The special prosecution team has concluded that there is no possibility the arrest warrant was leaked from within the team itself. Special Prosecutor Park explained, "In the case of the special prosecution, files are not shared at any stage from the drafting, review, to the filing of the warrant. The documents are distributed in hard copy and collected on site to ensure strict security."

The special prosecution team filed for an arrest warrant against former President Yoon Sukyeol the previous day on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. After the substantive warrant review for Yoon Sukyeol is completed on July 9, the team plans to detain him at either the Seoul Detention Center or the holding facility at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.