The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the police burst over the execution of the arrest warrant... "Maintaining the collaborative copy."

■ Host: Yoo Da-won Anchor, Kim Myung-geun Anchor
■ Starring: Reporter Baek Jong-gyu Social Affairs Department

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
The high-ranking government official's crime investigation office reversed the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol today after the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit decided to appoint police to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol when the expiration date of the arrest warrant expired. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, along with the police, has again announced that it will make every effort to execute the arrest warrant under the joint investigation headquarters, but it seems difficult to avoid criticism that it caused confusion. Emergency martial law investigation situation Let's talk with reporter Baek Jong-kyu of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Hello. Let's organize by time zone first. At midnight today, the validity period of the arrest warrant for President Yoon will end, and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit announced that it would hand over the authority to execute the warrant to the police.

[Reporter]
That's right. This is the news from this morning. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has decided to delegate the authority to execute arrest warrants against President Yoon Suk Yeol to the National Investigation Headquarters. They said they sent out such an official letter. Lee Jae-seung, deputy chief of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, said in a briefing this morning, "Under the Criminal Procedure Act, arrest warrants are executed by judicial police officers under the direction of prosecutors," adding, "The command means that the execution of the warrant can be entrusted to judicial police officers." He also explained that the role of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is to take over the recruits after presenting a warrant and notifying the point of the suspect, the reason for arrest, and the right. He also mentioned that he judged that the role could be played by the police through the execution of the warrant. He also sent an official letter to Acting President Choi Sang-mok urging the Security Agency to cooperate in executing the warrant, and explained that he had asked for an answer by 12 p.m. yesterday, but had not received any response. Oh Dong-woon, head of the Airborne Division, also explained that he tried to communicate with acting Choi but failed. Deputy Director Lee explained that he thought it was difficult to wait for an answer anymore and that he comprehensively considered the police's expertise in executing warrants and the uniformity of the field command system. He also added that it was judged that the execution of the national government should be entrusted to the national capital to proceed with the process quickly and efficiently.

[Anchor]
As such facts became known, there were criticisms that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was passive in executing arrest warrants, and criticism that it is now trying to pass on related tasks to the police unilaterally, right? [Reporter] In the process of executing an arrest warrant, some criticized that if an incident such as an armed conflict occurs, the police are trying to pass the responsibility on. On top of that, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, prosecutors, and investigators all answered that there are about 50 people and about 30 on-site personnel. For this reason, he mentioned that he thought the police could quickly subdue it and execute the warrant. Regarding the controversy over illegality, he explained that even if a general prosecutor of the prosecution office requests an arrest warrant and is issued, the prosecutor does not always go out. He also explained that if the prosecutor fails to secure a suspect even after investigating the suspect, the police officer who finds the suspect's whereabouts can arrest him if he stops prosecution and requests an arrest warrant.

[Anchor]
I wonder why the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit made this decision just before the end of the arrest warrant, but some say that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit came up with the most realistic plan after a desperate measure.

[Reporter]
Originally, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit added more executive personnel and today's warrant expires, so we will re-execute it. This observation came out. However, contrary to expectations, there was no re-execution. It seems that they have reached a compromise when the previous attempt to execute the warrant was blocked by the presidential security service. However, it is known that it was a "notification ceremony" without prior consultation with the police. As you said, after a desperate measure, it seems that the most realistic plan for the airborne office has been sought. However, criticism follows against the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, such as a lack of willingness to investigate and lack of strategy. In fact, it seems that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has acknowledged the limitations of its investigation capabilities. In response to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, he said that he did not expect the security service to block the execution of the warrant issued by the court. He also mentioned that the expertise of warrant execution is not in the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and that the police should acknowledge that the manpower, equipment, and execution experience are the best. It seems difficult to avoid criticism that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, which has brought the incident with confidence, has only wasted time.

[Anchor]
As soon as the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit said it would entrust the police with the authority to execute the warrant, the police actually expressed their intention to reject it. What logic did the police turn down the request of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit?

[Reporter]
The police first cited the reason for the legal controversy. An official from the police special investigation team stressed that the execution of the arrest warrant is clearly the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. He also said that he judged that there is a legal problem in entrusting the executive command to the police. At the same time, he explained that the police had never executed a warrant issued by the prosecution in the past. He then mentioned that he did not expect the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit to send such an official letter. After receiving the official letter, the police explained that they spoke to the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit in the morning and discussed it. After hearing the police's position today, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit also explained that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the police decided to re-execute the warrant together under the main system. In conclusion, the police "agreed to maintain the system of the Joint Investigation Headquarters with the Public Prosecutor's Office." "The subject of the arrest warrant is still at the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit," he said.

[Anchor]
As the situation became like this, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit reportedly asked to go back to the beginning. Since then, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has re-applied the warrant to the court to extend the arrest warrant deadline, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit withdrew the announcement that it would appoint the execution of the arrest warrant after the police entered. As a result of its own legal review, it was decided that the prosecutor of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit's authority to execute police warrants was not excluded, so it was argued that the official document was sent. However, he added that he agreed with the police in that he should not leave a small controversy. An official from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit said, "As it is an important case, time is the most important situation," and "If the police judged that there was a problem with the law in taking over the execution authority, we will no longer argue about the investigation and cooperate to push for the execution of the warrant." However, some criticized that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit overlooked the abolition of the prosecutor's general investigative command on the police due to the adjustment of investigative power in 2020. This afternoon, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit applied to the Seoul Western District Court to extend the validity period by re-claiming the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. This is because the validity period of the warrant issued on the 31st of last month ends as of midnight today. The move appears to be aimed at attempting further arrest of President Yoon. The court will review the reason for re-claiming the warrant and decide whether to issue the warrant, and attention is being paid to what the court will decide.

[Anchor]
However, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit said that only the execution of the arrest warrant was entrusted to the police, but the president strongly opposed this. I also used an expression such as whether it is giving an investigation 'submission'.

[Reporter]
Yoon Gap-geun, a lawyer for President Yoon Suk Yeol, has issued a statement. He then mentioned that Article 24 of the Corruption Investigations Unit Act only stipulates the transfer of cases to other investigative agencies or the transfer of cases. At the same time, he protested that there was no regulation that entrusted some of the investigation to the investigative agency. Investigation refers to the activities of an investigative agency that makes it clear whether there is a charge of a crime or not, but he criticized the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, saying that it cannot be entrusted to other agencies as if some of the construction is subcontracted. He also said that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is treating the police as a subordinate agency even though they do not have the authority to command the police investigation. Police wishing for independence of the
investigation rights should also reflect on their activities at the taste of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. I also pointed out this. He also warned that if the police execute illegal warrants as a maid of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, they will abuse their authority to police officials and take strong legal action against them.

[Anchor]
From the beginning, President Yoon's side had already been in the position that it could not be executed because it was wrong from the stage of issuing an arrest warrant, but this is also being repeated, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. This argument has been repeated over and over again. President Yoon's side has repeatedly said that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit does not have the authority to investigate rebellion. However, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit continued to make arbitrary interpretations and insisted that it had the right to investigate. That is why it is emphasized that even the warrant issued by the court cannot be recognized as effective. He also admitted that the fact that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit entrusted the execution of the warrant to the police could also be a matter of the validity of the warrant. It was also pointed out that there is a lot of legal controversy over whether the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit can order the police to execute a warrant for arresting people. In general, he emphasized that if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit received a legal or valid warrant, the warrant should be executed with the personnel of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, in opposition to President Yoon's attempt to execute an arrest warrant on the 3rd, President Yoon filed a complaint with the prosecution against 11 people, including Senior Superintendent of Public Offenses Oh Dong-woon.

[Reporter]
That's right. Yoon Suk Yeol's legal representatives filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office this morning. Lawyer Song Jin-ho, I submitted an appointment of a lawyer to file a complaint. In addition to Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Airborne Division, Lee Ho-young, the deputy head of the National Police Agency, and Kim Sun-ho, the vice minister of defense, were among the targets of the charges. He explained that the delegation and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit are leading the police special forces even though they do not have the command to investigate the police. He claimed that he attempted to execute an illegal arrest and search warrant for the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. As for Deputy Chief Lee and Vice Minister Kim, they refused the request of the Director of Security to increase the number of personnel under the Presidential Security Act, and said they were suspected of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority.

[Anchor]
As explained, President Yoon continues to emphasize that investigation, warrant request, issuance, and execution are illegal, but now, if the police execute the second arrest warrant, they seem to be actively trying to arrest President Yoon.

[Reporter]
That's right. The validity period of the arrest warrant is until today, so the second execution will take place by requesting and issuing an arrest warrant again. Police have emphasized that they will be more active if the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol is issued again and the second execution is carried out. He also said he plans to actively attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol and is also figuring out whereabouts. He also mentioned that he is considering arresting security officials if they physically block the execution of warrants. When asked about the possibility of sending a criminal task force or a police SWAT team, the police also left room, saying they would consider what they could do, with the security services tightening their guard, including barbed wire.

[Anchor]
The police also booked four commanders of the Presidential Security Service, including the chief of security, and notified them of their summons. You're saying there's no limit to applying charges of obstructing the execution of special public affairs, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. First, the police claimed to have confirmed that the police mobilized ordinary soldiers during the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. The police also emphasized that they checked how many soldiers were mobilized based on the evidence. In addition, there was a suspicion that there was an order from Chief of Security Park Jong-joon and Chief of Security Kim Sung-hoon in the process, but we investigated this. To this end, four commanders, including Chief Park, were booked and the summons was notified. However, the security service denies the allegation of sending soldiers. The police also explained that it is not unreasonable to apply the charges of obstructing the execution of special public affairs related to the execution of warrants. Obstruction of public affairs is divided into simple obstruction of public affairs and special obstruction of public affairs. It can be applied when obstructing the execution of special public affairs, causing injuries to public officials, or assault or injury with dangerous objects.

[Anchor]
This time, let's also look at the prosecution's investigation. Moon Sang-ho, commander of the Armed Forces Intelligence Command, was put on trial when he was suspected of sending troops to the NEC and participating in the plot before martial law was declared?

[Reporter]
He's the central figure in the burger joint. The Special Prosecutor's Office today arrested and charged Moon Sang-ho, commander of the Armed Forces Intelligence Command, on charges of abusing his authority and obstructing the exercise of his rights. It means he was put on trial in custody. This is the sixth time that it has been put on trial in connection with the emergency martial law crisis. In November last year, Commander Moon was instructed by former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won to secure computerized data, arrest and imprison employees of the NEC. He was also instructed to secure NEC data to prove that there was a fraudulent election. Since then, a so-called hamburger store meeting was held two days before martial law was declared. Commander Moon also dispatched 10 members of the Intelligence Command to the Central Election Commission in response to the order. The soldiers who were dispatched to the Central Election Commission were divided into two vehicles with live ammunition and waited on the road near the NEC. Later, when President Yoon declared an emergency decree, he ordered the waiting members to enter the NEC building and occupy the server room. The prosecution judged that Moon's actions amounted to rioting for the purpose of national constitutional controversy and abusing his authority to do duty-free work.

[Anchor]
In the meantime, the Constitutional Court held its first meeting of judges today since the formation of the "eight-member system." Please tell me what was shared.

[Reporter]
The full bench meeting was held today. The Constitutional Court discussed the process of President Yoon's impeachment at this meeting today. I decided to share the situation with the judge's review once a week. President Yoon also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Constitutional Court's consecutive hearing dates. All eight judges reaffirmed their policy to hold the hearing twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, starting on the 14th. The Constitutional Court referred to Article 30 (3) of the Constitutional Court Act, not the Criminal Procedure Act. In other words, he emphasized that when the court holds a pleading, it is possible to summon the parties and related persons by setting a deadline. He also explained that after five impeachment hearings, additional dates will be designated according to the progress. He expressed his position to continue a quick and fair trial.

[Anchor]
First of all, President Yoon has refused to comply with the arrest warrant so far and will actively respond to the impeachment trial instead. If he attends, he will be the first incumbent president in the impeachment trial court, right?

[Reporter]
That's right. Yesterday, Yoon Kap-geun, a lawyer representing the president of Yoon Suk Yeol, announced that President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend and express his opinion on the appropriate date. I'm a different lawyer today. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun and lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who supports the outskirts, declined to comment on this part. There is a possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the first hearing scheduled for the 14th at the earliest. If President Yoon attends in person, he will be the first president in the impeachment trial. In the past, former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never attended. President Yoon Suk Yeol, it seems to mean that he will defend himself in the impeachment trial without cooperating with the investigation of investigative agencies. President Yoon Suk Yeol's side has said that the impeachment trial comes before the investigation, but it seems to continue this stance. However, President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his position that he would respond confidently, whether it be an investigation or an impeachment trial, but it is contrary to the existing position.

[Anchor]
I see. So far, we've been with Baek Jong-gyu, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thank you for talking today.