Seoul Detention Center Refuses Disclosure
Cites Personal Information Protection
The Special Committee for Comprehensive Response to the Three Major Special Prosecutions (Insurrection, Kim Keonhee, and Chae Sangbyeong) of the ruling Democratic Party visited Seoul Detention Center on August 11 in protest, following the repeated failure to execute the arrest warrant for former President Yoon Sukyeol. The purpose of the visit was to verify whether there were any illegalities in the process of executing the arrest warrant and to check for any preferential treatment provided by the detention center.
Jeon Hyunhee, the committee's chief coordinator, held a press conference in front of Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, on the same day. She stated, "We plan to review closed-circuit (CC) TV and bodycam footage recorded at the scene of the arrest warrant execution for former President Yoon, in order to confirm whether any illegal acts occurred during the process."
This was the second visit by the committee to Seoul Detention Center, following one on July 31. Jeon explained the purpose of the protest visit, saying, "We will check whether there was any illegality in the process of resisting the execution, or whether there was any preferential treatment or dereliction of duty by the detention center. If the execution of the arrest warrant is refused, we will also inquire whether disciplinary action within the detention center is possible."
She added, "If dereliction of duty is confirmed and illegal acts are acknowledged, we will demand accountability from the relevant detention center officials and urge that such incidents do not recur. We will take all possible measures to ensure that former President Yoon kneels before the law and cooperates with the special prosecutor's investigation."
During a meeting with Seoul Detention Center officials, including Director Kim Hyunwoo, committee members requested access to footage from the scene of the arrest warrant execution and records of the corresponding timeframes. However, the committee left empty-handed, as the detention center decided, after internal review, not to disclose video materials such as CCTV and bodycam footage.
Jeon stated in her meeting with Director Kim Hyunwoo, "Last week, we requested in advance that the footage from CCTV and bodycams during the execution of the arrest warrant at Seoul Detention Center be submitted to us. We made this request through the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but the detention center refused to comply."
She further emphasized, "Although the detention center has a legal obligation to cooperate with the execution by using handcuffs or restraining ropes, we suspect they may have failed to fulfill this duty. Because of these suspicions, we are seeking to review the on-site CCTV and bodycam footage."
Lee Sungyun, a committee member, remarked, "We tried to persuade the director and senior officials for three hours, but they said they could not disclose the footage under the Information Disclosure Act. We will not stand by idly in the face of this refusal. We will do everything possible to obtain the withheld materials through the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee."
Jang Kyungtae, another committee member, pointed out, "This is the first time that a request from members of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee for access to such footage has been denied. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Board of Audit and Inspection comply with such requests, but for the first time, the director of Seoul Detention Center has refused to grant access."
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