'Civil War Investigation and Special Prosecution Law' Pressure from All directions on President Yoon and his wife

■ Host: Anchor Yoon Bori and anchor Na Kyung-chul
■ Starring: Attorney Kim Sung-soo

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN Newswide] when quoting.


[Anchor]
The Cooperation Investigation Headquarters of Sanggye-um sent a second request for attendance to President Yoon to be investigated on the 25th, which is Christmas Day. Meanwhile, the opposition party targeted acting Han Deok-soo and pressed for the promulgation of the standing special prosecutor and Kim Gun-hee's independent counsel law, citing impeachment.Let's take a look at the contents related to lawyer Kim Sung-soo. Please come in. First of all, can you summarize the current civil war investigation?

[Kim Sung-soo]
First of all, isn't there a rebellion investigation underway regarding martial law? Martial law itself was on Dec. 3 and lifted on Dec. 4. And the first person to be arrested is former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. He was arrested on the 11th, and commander-level military officers have been detained ever since. So, as Moon Sang-ho, the commander of intelligence, has recently been arrested, most of the military leaders are being arrested for martial law-related charges. There is a part that looks like this. There's also a police section.

In the police section, there was a story about whether the police conspired to some extent in connection with these charges of arresting lawmakers in relation to martial law, and in this regard, the two police chief, Cho Ji-ho and Kim Bong-sik, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, are being investigated under arrest. And aren't there any civilians, reference people, or non-defendants at the moment?

Since we are conducting an all-round investigation through reference investigations and what happened on the day of the Cabinet meeting, and if there is a violation of the law, we are also conducting an investigation into the members of the State Council, so there is a very all-round investigation and a lot of seizure and search.

[Anchor]
In particular, former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won, who is known to have played an important role in the martial law process, was reportedly discharged from the military due to sexual harassment charges, but he said he ran a fortune-telling shop as a civilian. But a handwritten notebook was found here?
[Kim Sung-soo]
Former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won is also one of the arrested civilians. Since there is a situation in which the current charges appear to have conspired martial law with current and former military officers at a hamburger restaurant called a hamburger meeting, we are now trying to find out if there is any suspicion about this.

That's why there are some very important facts about this, and as you said, the notebook came out of the fortune teller's shop that you are running now, and there is a part where it seems to contain martial law-related information. If the contents of the notebook are true about martial law, can't these parts be important parts whether they were written while discussing with someone how they came to write it or by someone's instructions? Therefore, the investigation is underway because it can be a very important evidence depending on how it was written in relation to this notebook. [Anchor] It's known that the notebook has the location of the military deployment and the specific troop movement plan, but if this is true, what concrete evidence can it be?

[Kim Sung-soo]
If you say that such content is written, did you write it at someone's instruction, or did you write it yourself? And it's important what the reason for writing this is itself. If martial law is done, isn't there someone who ordered it to be organized by asking them to make a specific plan for these parts? You will tell the person who gave this instruction why you gave this instruction, and the facts can be different depending on the purpose of the instruction.

So, first of all, you will see such content as the main content, and if you wrote it, for what purpose you wrote it, this part may be important. Therefore, there is news that a notebook has been found because even this part must be viewed from all directions, and since we are currently investigating as a suspect, I think the facts will come out more concretely in this suspect investigation.

[Anchor]
In addition, the Joint Investigation Headquarters sent a second request for attendance to President Yoon, and on the 25th, they notified him to be investigated on Christmas, but there is a high possibility that President Yoon will not respond. What do you think?

[Kim Sung-soo]
In my personal expectation, I think there is a high possibility of not responding. First of all, there is no mention that the formation of the defense team has yet to be completed, and consultations on security may be needed. Attending the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit in person can be very burdensome, so close consultation is needed on this. For this reason, I think there is a high possibility that he will not attend on the 25th. Also, isn't the President of Yoon Suk Yeol denying that it is an act of rebellion?

Apart from the criminal case, a very important case called the impeachment trial is underway, so there is room to claim that the impeachment trial will be conducted first, and that such a criminal case that can give any prejudice will be received later, so we need to look at this part comprehensively. However, even if he does not attend on the 25th, the Constitutional Court is also saying that he will brief on the service on the 23rd, so I think there will be a process of expressing specific opinions sometime next week.

[Anchor]
In fact, there are predictions that it will be difficult to attend within this year. In that case, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit seems to be considering an arrest warrant.

[Kim Sung-soo]
If the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit refuses to comply with the attendance or if there is a risk of refusing to comply, it could be the reason for issuing an arrest warrant, so they say they will review the arrest warrant. Even if an arrest warrant is requested, isn't it a matter that the court has no choice but to approach very carefully whether or not the court will issue this part?
That's why we have to see if it's possible to issue it. In addition, if it is issued, whether the execution of the arrest warrant itself can be executed without problems can be an issue, so I think we will carefully consider that part and decide whether to request an arrest warrant.

[Anchor]
The investigation into President
's alleged rebellion, which became a transfer when the prosecution handed over all the data to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit not long ago, was also analyzed like this. So, from the president's point of view, it may be more advantageous to go to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit than to go to the prosecution for an investigation. What do you think of this analysis?

[Kim Sung-soo]
I think various opinions can come out. However, didn't the prosecution conduct a lot of investigations into the military leadership? That's why you'll have a lot of information, and you'll have a lot of information about facts on the day. If only some of the cases, the presidential case of Yoon Suk Yeol, are transferred to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the agency itself is different, so even if you cooperate, there will be physical restrictions on the information being transferred. That's why President Yoon Suk Yeol can say that it's advantageous in this regard, and another thing is that it hasn't been that long since the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was established.

As a result, there were opinions that there was a lack of know-how and such things as investigation know-how because there were few manpower and the installation was not long. In fact, there are talks about whether there has been no significant achievement in the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, so there are talks about whether the transfer itself to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is advantageous to President Yoon Suk Yeol. And even if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit conducts an investigation, the case should be transferred back to the prosecution at the prosecution stage. If that happens, the prosecution can review the case once again, and it may take time here. In this regard, even if President Yoon Suk Yeol aims to delay the time as much as possible, that part can be advantageous. Since these opinions are coming out now, I think the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit will make all-out efforts to achieve meaningful results in this case.

[Anchor]
Isn't the reason why such an interpretation is because the special prosecutor is not being launched quickly?

[Kim Sung-soo]
I think the case will gather again as a special prosecutor after the special prosecution is launched, and this is what it looks like now. That's why when the independent counsel will be launched, this itself becomes an issue. In the end, under the law, the special prosecutor is now going two-track. One is the Permanent Special Prosecutor Act. There is a law called the Permanent Special Prosecutor Act that now exists, and there is a part where the National Assembly can vote and proceed with the permanent special prosecution. This part has been passed. The permanent special prosecution bill has been passed and the special prosecution law is separate.

This rebellion means that a separate independent counsel law will be enacted to investigate allegations of rebellion. This is why the plenary session has passed, and the process of promulgation remains. If one of the two cases in the police, prosecution, and airlift offices proceeds, the special prosecution will clear up the case that the special prosecution wants to proceed with, so many issues can disappear, but as shown in the video, there is a slight delay in the special prosecution process. That's why people say that the special prosecution process should proceed quickly, and even if the special prosecution law passes or the appointment process according to the permanent special prosecution proceeds, shouldn't we form an organization that didn't have this special prosecution even after the appointment? Since it is necessary to create an investigation group, it will take time in itself, and it will take a lot of time for this group to actually investigate this part after the format is made, so in reality, it may be said that it takes longer to go to the special prosecutor.

[Anchor]
Anyway, before the special prosecutor was created, the investigation subjects were very diverse. Now, the prosecution raided Woo Jong-soo's mobile phone. So, what happened when one investigator seized and searched the cell phone of the head of the other investigator?

[Kim Sung-soo]
First of all, there are suspicions that there was a story like this, asking the police to support the arrest team on the day of martial law. So, in relation to the allegation, if so, the investigation was scheduled to proceed as to who was contacted to provide this support, and a seizure and search warrant was issued in this regard.

So, a search warrant was issued, and the targets included the seizure and search of mobile phones by about 10 police officials, including Woo Jong-soo, the current head of the National Defense Headquarters, so the prosecution said, "Isn't there a battle of pride while passing over this case?" In the midst of this talk, the prosecution said, "Isn't this what pressure the prosecution is trying to put on?" In reality, the prosecution does not issue all warrants from the court just because the prosecution claims them, but only if there is a reason to issue a search warrant, so I think such speculation is excessive because there is a clear suspicion and a search warrant was obtained.

[Anchor]
This time, let's talk about the Constitution. President Yoon is not even receiving the documents sent by the Constitutional Court. But in fact, we can all guess where the president is. Some say that it is meaningful to return it in this situation, but it is a legally necessary procedure.

[Kim Sung-soo]
That's right. Delivery is very important. Service is an important part because there are parts like this, such as the period after receiving service. Regarding service, there are the Civil Procedure Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, and this part is applied mutatis mutandis.
So, isn't it an important part of whether it was served in accordance with these applicable provisions under the lawsuit law and a very important case from the Constitutional Court's point of view? Since this is a case that determines whether or not the president will be dismissed, there is a part that seeks to ensure that there are no defects in the relevant procedures, and if so, how can it be regarded as being served? It seems to be reviewing whether it can be seen as a requirement to do such things as kindergarten service or public service service, and I think it is highly likely that the service will be carried out again in a certain way and in that case, how the service has been completed, rather than declaring that it will be considered as a service tomorrow, the 23rd.

[Anchor]
Even if such a procedure is carried out and served, the formation of President Yoon's lawyers is not working properly right now. If the formation of such a lawyer is delayed, won't it be delayed again?

[Kim Sung-soo]
First of all, isn't the Constitutional Court setting a preparation date on the 27th? This preparation date is a part that organizes what issues will be made and which witnesses will be applied before entering the main date. However, in order to organize this part, the agent or lawyer must have a very clear understanding of the case, but if you haven't been able to grasp this part because you were recently appointed, you can delay the deadline.

Therefore, even if the agency is completed for that reason, there is a delay related to that part. Depending on whether you are present or not, if you do not attend, you can pass the deadline to the next date because attendance is the principle. That's why it seems to be a related issue as there are talks about whether such a method can be delayed.

[Anchor]
It seems that President Yoon continues to use a delay strategy, but some people can apply for an injunction to lift the suspension with the next card. What do you think of this part?

[Kim Sung-soo]
There is an issue about whether provisional disposition is possible in relation to constitutional trials. Currently, there is a position that provisional disposition is possible for constitutional trials, and there are many types of provisional dispositions, right? There will also be provisional dispositions for suspension of
. However, even for this part where the job has been suspended, you can apply for an injunction to cancel the execution of the job suspension again.

Therefore, some say that President Yoon Suk Yeol is planning a strategy to delay the time a little more through this provisional injunction, and there is a case where he actually applied for an injunction. In the case of the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office recently filed an injunction. That's why some say that President Yoon Suk Yeol is also paying like this. However, it is necessary to consider whether there is a possibility of citation to consider whether this part is of actual benefit, and if there is no possibility of citation, the time to delay the trial itself will not be delayed that much. Looking at this political situation, isn't the acting president exercising his authority to carry out his duties?

However, if you apply for an injunction on suspension of your job, you will have to come up with various opinions, so I think you will comprehensively judge and proceed with this.

[Anchor]
Yoon's side hasn't made an official position yet, but it's still legal advice, it seems that he's conveying something through his friend, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun. However, he never ordered politicians to be arrested or detained. Or it's an act of governance, and while continuing to talk about this, it's actually a completely different story from the situations revealed through the testimony of the commanders. It's constantly being deployed.

[Kim Sung-soo]
[Voiceover] That's right. That could be important, whether that's the crime of rebellion or whether the facts that are important in the impeachment trial were trying to arrest a member of Congress. In this case of rebellion, the act of preventing the exercise of the power of the state agency itself can be a rebellion, but the National Assembly is a state agency. So, if the attempt to make an arrest is to prevent the National Assembly from exercising normally, the possibility of establishing a rebellion is even greater, which is an important fact. As the military leaders and officials said, there has been an order for the arrest, and President Yoon Suk Yeol has never mentioned an arrest, right? So, the suspect is currently denying the facts related to this, so in order to prove the allegation, the investigative agency will have to prove that it was really the story that President Yoon Suk Yeol told him to arrest him.

As a result, we can see that it could be an issue, and I understand that the commanders told us to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol over the phone. In fact, if one side denies it and the other side says I heard it, the court will decide how to prove it and which side's statement is more reliable. From the lawyer's point of view, it seems that the issue can be how to persuade more credibility in this part by giving evidence that there is no such fact.

[Anchor]
However, as President Yoon has not even appointed a lawyer, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is now offering advice. How can I interpret this?

[Kim Sung-soo]
There are rumors that some people are going to join the defense team, but the senior manager hasn't gone in, right?
So, rather than expressing their position through the people who are talking about it, they say they've been friends for a long time. Through lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, a long-time acquaintance of
, I think it's time to express my position itself. It seems to be proceeding through that part because it is necessary to inform that this is the position, and if the lawyers do not include lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, there are cases where the facts claimed by the lawyers and the facts claimed by lawyer Seok Dong-hyun later contradict each other, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun misunderstood this at the time.Since there are parts that can be said like this, there are parts that I think are taken into account, and there is a part that requires a process of continuing to express one's position whether it is next week or the week after next, and I think we need to see whether we will express our position through lawyer Seok Dong-hyun or through the lawyers.

[Anchor]
Now, one of the most problematic parts of the Constitutional Court's time is that there are six justices of the Constitutional Court right now. So, three people are vacant, but I think the key is whether acting Han Deok-soo can appoint these three people in the end. The ruling and opposition parties are now in the opposite position from the impeachment of former President Park Geun Hye.
Why are you showing such a different position?

[Kim Sung-soo]
In this part, if you explain the legal text, according to Article 111 (2) of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court consists of nine judges who are qualified as judges, and the judges are appointed by the President. In addition, paragraph 3 states that three of the judges in paragraph 2 appoint those elected by the National Assembly, and three appoint those nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Therefore, the seats currently vacant are those elected by the National Assembly. Then, even if it is elected by the National Assembly, the constitutional judge will not be appointed unless the president appoints it.

However, according to Article 65 of the Constitution, the president's authority has been suspended because he has the power to prosecute impeachment, and according to Article 71, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is acting on behalf of this part, right? Aren't you acting as an agent for
? In that case, the issue of whether the president's appointment can be exercised by the acting president is itself an issue. If the acting authority cannot exercise this part, it is impossible to appoint a constitutional judge, so the case is bound to continue with the current six members, and if it is possible to make an appointment, it becomes an issue because it is possible to complete and proceed with nine judges through appointment. In 2016, the Democratic Party argued that the acting president could not appoint a constitutional judge, and in this case, isn't it the opposite?

This time, rather, the people's power insists that this part cannot be done, so there may be various interpretations in this regard, but there are also stories about whether it is because of political interests, and there are legal differences. The constitutional judges, who were at issue in 2016, were not elected to the National Assembly, but to the president. It was up to the presidential election and the chief justice, but at that time, the presidential election share was not appointed even after the dismissal was made later. Therefore, the appointment of a person elected by the National Assembly on such matters is a formality. Since the other side is making this argument and the other side is saying otherwise, I think it will continue to be a dispute over how to view it legally.

[Anchor]
There is another controversy over the six-member hearing because of the constitutional petition filed by Lee Jin-sook, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, which is why the six-member system will collapse if Lee Jin-sook withdraws the constitutional petition. There's also a claim like this. Is that true?

[Kim Sung-soo]
If you look at Article 23 (1) of the Constitutional Court Act, it is said that the court will hear the case with the attendance of seven or more judges.
That's why it's a rule that six people can't do psychology. However, as you said in this regard, Lee Jin-sook, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is currently facing an impeachment case. However, since these three people are in a situation where they are vacant, if the impeachment is not decided, the authority will continue to be suspended, so they filed a constitutional petition in this regard. Because Article 23 (1) of the
Constitutional Court Act violates the Constitution, a constitutional petition is filed to make a judgment on it and a provisional injunction is issued. What was the provisional disposition was that I was filing a constitutional petition, and I applied for a temporary suspension of the effect of Article 23, Paragraph 1 until the constitutional petition was decided. And this part was cited, and now the hearing is possible.

I said that psychology is possible even if it's not 7 people. If you do this, wouldn't Lee Jin-sook, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, be temporarily suspended because of the provisional disposition? And if the constitutional petition is terminated, the provisional injunction is cited until the end of the constitutional petition, so if the constitutional petition is withdrawn, the effect of the provisional injunction will also be lost. If that happens, some say that it is impossible to hear the impeachment of the president because he is currently in the state of six. However, some say that once it is withdrawn, it will be terminated immediately, but on the contrary, even if it is withdrawn in the past, there is a possibility that it will not be terminated immediately because there is a possibility of judging the constitutional petition, and if the suspension of the provisional disposition becomes ineffective, another person can file the same constitutional petition and apply for the same provisional disposition. Therefore, even if the period is delayed, the period is not long, so there seems to be an opinion on whether there is a real benefit to this.

[Anchor]
In the end, this part is whether acting Han Deok-soo can appoint a constitutional judge or not. I think this is the most important part. Another problem right now is that after the Cabinet meeting, an acting president said that he would use his veto power on the six bills that passed the National Assembly led by the opposition party. However, until January, there are two things at stake: the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act and the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act. So the opposition party threatened to hold the acting president accountable if he vetoed this part, which would suggest that he could be impeached again, right? [Kim Sung-soo] To tell you that this is also an issue, Article 53 (1) of the Constitution says that the resolution passed by the National Assembly is transferred to the government and promulgated by the President within 15 days.

However, if you look at Article 53 (2) regarding the promulgation, if the president has an objection to the legal section, the president can request reconsideration by attaching an objection within the period of paragraph (1) and within 15 days to the National Assembly. Please judge again, you can ask for it like this. If there is a request for reconsideration, if it passes the existing plenary session, a majority of the registered members can pass this part of the plenary session with the approval of half the members present. In the case of a request for reconsideration, more than two-thirds of the members present are required to attend a majority of the registered members. So, if it becomes a request for reconsideration, isn't it likely that 192 people will agree now? Then, the exercise of the right to request reconsideration itself becomes an issue because it could be the same issue as the last impeachment on the eight leave votes, and the two special prosecution laws you mentioned were transferred to the government on the 17th.

Because of that, January 1st is the 15th. That's why there is an issue about whether to review it by January 1st or whether it will be a fear or a request for reconsideration before that. As mentioned in the video earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea is asking for this part to be promulgated by the 24th, and if not, it is possible to review impeachment, which seems to be drawing attention in various ways.

[Anchor]
Lastly, let's talk briefly about Myung Taekyun. Myung Tae-kyun, who is suspected of intervening in the nomination, wants to be tried without detention. By the way, it is said that bail will be decided tomorrow, so what will the court decide?

[Kim Sung-soo]
This is why bail should be viewed clearly in Article 94, 95, and 96 of the Criminal Procedure Act. There are exceptions regarding the reasons for bail. If there is a reason not to bail, but there is a fear of destroying evidence and running away, it may not be bail. Therefore, at the time of the arrest, he was arrested because there was a fear of destroying evidence, so I think the issue will still be whether there is a reason for the arrest.

[Anchor]
Let's stop here. So far, I've been with lawyer Kim Sung-soo.
Thank you for talking today.