[News Now] Corruption Investigations Unit considers the timing of the execution of the warrant...Can the head of security be a variable in attendance?

■ Host: Anchor Jung Ji-woong
■ Starring: Attorney Seo Jeong-bin

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

[Anchor]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is considering the timing of the execution of the second arrest warrant for President Yoon. In the meantime, this morning, Chief of Security Park Jong-joon attended the police and is being investigated. Amid speculation that it will be a variable in the execution of the arrest warrant, we will talk about the related contents with lawyer Seo Jeong-bin. Welcome. First of all, Park Jong-joon, the head of the Presidential Security Service, attended the police this morning and is being investigated. There was the first arrest warrant execution on the 3rd, and the charge of obstructing the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to raise a lot of questions related to this in today's investigation, right?

[Jeongbin Seo]
That's right. Now, in the end, it is a crime of obstruction of the execution of special public affairs that hindered the execution of such a warrant at the time. As we are investigating while receiving such charges, questions and answers related to this charge are expected to come and go. If you start with acknowledging these charges and deny them, you'll be asked what the basis is, what instructions you gave at the time, how you exercised your authority over your employees, and if you decide that the execution of the warrant is illegal, you'll be asked about these details.

[Anchor]
I said this when I was present in the morning. First of all, I said that physical collisions are not possible. I went into the investigation after saying, "I need a state of investigation suitable for the president." What does it mean to be an investigative process suitable for the president? [Seo Jung-bin] Actually, I didn't give an exact specific example, but it seems to be about whether arbitrary investigations are right for the president rather than compulsory investigations through execution of arrest warrants. For example, in the end, it seems that such an investigation procedure is necessary with these things in mind, such as a method of coordinating the investigation schedule and attending arbitrarily, or conducting an investigation in a third place, or conducting a written investigation first.

[Anchor]
Anyway, it is analyzed that it is not the way to issue an arrest warrant and execute it as it is now. I talked about this part, too. An arrest warrant was not issued legally. So there's going to be a legal argument, and you said, for example, you've filed a warrant with the Western District Court, or you've included Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Code in the warrant, right?

[Jeongbin Seo]
Therefore, in the end, it seems that President Yoon once again mentioned the contents that he claimed. It seems that there is a controversy over the legality of the execution of the warrant, including whether the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has the right to investigate, the process of requesting a warrant, and the exclusion of such exceptional regulations as you said when the warrant is issued. In the end, it seems that he/she has repeated this existing claim once again in terms of claiming that it is illegal execution of public affairs, but this crime is not true if there is an obstacle to the process of performing legitimate public affairs.

[Anchor]
What about you, lawyer? From a lawyer's point of view, the process and procedure of issuing a warrant are illegal, so this warrant itself is meaningless, do you see it like this?

[Jeongbin Seo]
It is right that there is controversy, but in my personal opinion, the Western District Court issued a warrant twice for this part, and on the other hand, rejected the objection raised by President Yoon, and questioned the validity of such a warrant, starting with the investigation right of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Then, once the court has confirmed it again, I think it is difficult for this argument to be accepted as it is.

[Anchor]
This is also the key. Now, Director Park is being investigated after attending the third summons. What do you think is the possibility of the police arresting Chief Park today?

[Jeongbin Seo]
Of course, there is a possibility, but when I think about it, I don't think it will actually reach an emergency arrest. Because in order to be subject to an emergency arrest, on the one hand, concerns about the destruction of evidence, or the fear of flight, and urgency must be recognized. However, in the case of Park Jong-joon, the head of the security department, he eventually responded to the attendance and voluntarily attended. And it is also true that the police have been requesting attendance for about a week is relatively short. The reason for refusing to attend was also the security issue and on the other hand, the appointment of a lawyer. So, considering these points, I think it is a little difficult to judge that the chief of security who voluntarily appeared is feared to flee or destroy evidence, so if so, I think it is relatively unlikely that the emergency arrest will be carried out today.

[Anchor]
It is said that Kim Sung-hoon, the deputy head of the security department, is acting on behalf of Park Jong-joon, the head of the security department. Isn't Kim Sung-hoon, the deputy head of security, also booked by the police? I need to be investigated, right?

[Jeongbin Seo]
That's right. I understand that the deadline for requesting attendance is tomorrow. Kim Sung-hoon, deputy chief of security, was also asked to appear on charges of obstructing the execution of public affairs at the time of execution of the warrant. As the head of the security agency is being investigated today, he is currently acting as an agent for the security agency. I don't know if I will actually attend tomorrow, but anyway, I have to attend because of the charges, so I have to attend for now.

[Anchor]
Now, the police say there are 26 people in the Security Service regarding the execution of the president's arrest warrant. I asked for identification. It seems that the number of people who will be investigated within the security office will continue to increase, but the security office may have to take legal responsibility later, so in a way, it will be more difficult.

[Jeongbin Seo]
That's right. In fact, despite the demands of the security service, the military and the police have expressed their position that they cannot cooperate with the execution of the warrant in the future, and on the other hand, there are many opinions that there is a stir inside as the security chief is currently being investigated for obstructing the execution of special public affairs. And now that the police are working to secure the identities of 26 people, even if I performed my work at the time according to instructions, in the end, even if they are accused of obstructing the execution of public affairs, it is inevitable that there will be enough internal disturbance in the current situation.

[Anchor]
Regarding Park Jong-joon and Kim Sung-hoon, the head of the bodyguard, we talked about the police inspection, but if the leaders of the bodyguard continue to be investigated and arrested, the bodyguard's refusal to execute President Yoon's arrest warrant will inevitably dampen the momentum, right?

[Jeongbin Seo]
That's right. There are many opinions and reviews on how to proceed with the second execution, and one of them is to arrest some employees or commanders on charges of obstructing the execution of public affairs at the time of execution. Therefore, if the investigation continues into the current chief or deputy chief, wouldn't that eventually become a significant variable for the security service's position in the future? So, I can predict that it will be a little different from the atmosphere before.

[Anchor]
The deadline for the second arrest warrant for President Yoon has not yet been clearly announced. Nevertheless, it's before the Lunar New Year holiday, and such reports continue to come out, but since the warrant was issued on the 7th, if it's before the Lunar New Year, isn't it almost 3 weeks? Is it common to get a warrant for this length of time, how is it?

[Jeongbin Seo]
It's not common. First of all, there is no specific regulation that a warrant should be made until when the expiration date should be, but usually about a week. That's why even if you re-claim it, you'll be given about a week. Of course, in this case, it is a special case, so I expected that it would have been about two weeks if I had been given a little more time, but according to some reports and things like this, the warrant deadline could have been set up to three weeks.

[Anchor]
As you said, it was set longer than the usual period, so isn't there a reason why it was given this long? Is it the intention to prepare a little more and execute the arrest warrant properly?

[Jeongbin Seo]
That's how it's shown. In fact, even in the case of the first execution, the court or officials must have been fully aware that it could not be executed in the end due to such a backlash from the security service, and if so, in the case of this warrant issued by re-claiming this time, the period of preparation was extended a little more, and the execution was allowed at a little more unexpected time, so it was not confirmed in a three-week period, of course, considering the feasibility of the warrant. I think I set it a little longer.

[Anchor]
This is the biggest interest at this point. It's asking when the arrest warrant is executed. There are so many things to talk about that we can do it during the weekend. People keep saying that it could be done after the weekend, but when do you think it's more likely to be done?

[Jeongbin Seo]
I think it's hard to predict. In fact, there was a lot of talk about when the warrant will be executed, and it will be today. On the other hand, there was also a story.

[Anchor]
I was late today, right?

[Jeongbin Seo]
I think it's a late situation today. However, on the other hand, there was a story that the head of the security or deputy chief was summoned, so he would receive an arrest warrant and execute it at the same time around next Monday and Tuesday. However, there are also talks about the validity of the warrant being close to three weeks, so it seems difficult for me to even guess when and if so, whether or not the execution will actually be carried out.

[Anchor]
It's hard for us to predict in advance because the exact warrant deadline hasn't come out yet, but if it's right before the Lunar New Year holiday, is there a possibility that it will be postponed for more than three weeks until then and then proceed at the end?

[Jeongbin Seo]
There seems to be a possibility. However, on the other hand, of course, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the police are now in a position to complete it with the second execution, but if it is not executed, there may be a problem that the remaining period will not be enough. So isn't it a little too late to think about whether to go to the point where the deadline is almost expired and execute it? If so, I'm thinking that I'll at least have a little more room and execute it until the end.

[Anchor]
Yoon's side asked the Constitutional Court for a competitive trial, saying that the second arrest warrant was also invalid. I also filed a provisional injunction for prohibition of effect. Regarding the execution of the first warrant, I filed an injunction at the time, but wasn't it rejected at that time?

[Jeongbin Seo]
At that time, rather than dismissing it, it became virtually meaningless because there was no decision by the Constitutional Court until the end of the validity period of the warrant, President Yoon said. Anyway, this time, the warrant has been re-claimed, so in the future, the second arrest warrant has been issued, and another dispute trial or provisional disposition for suspension of effect has been requested.

[Anchor]
Then, you filed a provisional injunction for prohibition of effect, and how will the process proceed next?

[Jeongbin Seo]
In principle, the provisional disposition for prohibition of effect is to temporarily suspend the effect of the disposition until the conclusion of the competent dispute trial and the main decision is made, so whether to cite it or not should be decided first. However, in this case, first of all, it may be questionable whether the president has the authority to consider that he has been violated in this case. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the second warrant may expire or the execution may be terminated before the Constitutional Court decides. If that happens, there is a possibility that it will be dismissed because there is no interest in protecting rights.

[Anchor]
There is also this suspicion. There is also a suspicion that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit first requested a warrant to the Seoul Central District Court, and when it was rejected, it was requested to the Western District Court again and issued it. Is this legally correct? Is it possible?

[Jeongbin Seo]
It's possible, but if the point raising the issue is dismissed after requesting an arrest warrant once, the purpose or reason must be additionally stated when requesting an arrest warrant again later. To put it simply, if it is rejected, it has to be reinforced when making a claim again. However, if you claim to the Central District Court with the same content and get rejected, but if you claim a warrant with the Western District Court without adding any other reason, you may have violated the regulations related to the re-claim of such a warrant.

[Anchor]
Oh Dong-woon, head of the Airborne Division, said this at the plenary session of the National Assembly. It was first filed with the Seoul District Court. So I said that I never filed a claim with the Central District Court first, but is this unlikely to be perjury, what do you think?

[Jeongbin Seo]
First of all, I think I've talked about this quite clearly. It is said that the first claim made was the Western District Court. In addition, in the case of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the issue of existence is being raised in the current situation, so I think it is unlikely that the remarks made even after coming out of the National Assembly will be false.

[Anchor]
Let me ask you one more question. Is it very difficult to check this?

[Jeongbin Seo]
I don't think the court has made any clear position now. If questions are strongly raised about this part, wouldn't it be possible for the court to reveal these things? If so, I think the facts will be easier to check than I thought.

[Anchor]
I see. We talked in detail with lawyer Seo Jeong-bin about the investigation of President Yoon. Thank you for today.