Seoul’s acting leader, Park Jong-joon, the head of the national security service, resigned on Friday as he was being quizzed by police about how his forces had obstructed Yoon Suk Yeol’s detention past week.
The operating head, deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok, expressed regret over the clashes between Yoon’s detention attempts and those of the national security company and demanded that lawmakers come to an agreement on a way to build an impartial investigation.
As they simultaneously check whether Yoon’s short simple declaration of martial law on December 3 amounted to an attempted revolt, the bribery investigation office for high-ranking officials and police are planning a second attempt to take him into custody. Yoon has never left his official house for weeks, so the national security service made an earlier attempt to detain him at it.
Park obviated two indictments before making an appearance for questioning on Friday over alleged affecting justice, a fortnight after his forces removed dozens of anti-corruption and police researchers from Yoon’s official property. Park said his top priority is to protect the president and warned of “bloodshed,” as some critics claimed his organization is turning into Yoon’s personal army.
Members of the national security team could be detained if they get in the way, according to the anti-corruption office and authorities, and they have pledged to make a second, stronger detainment effort. It wasn’t immediately clear how their push to bring Yoon into custody would be affected by Park’s resignation and Choi’s call for an independent investigation to take over the investigation on Yoon.
The president’s hampered state is still residing at his official residence in Seoul, where barbed wire and rows of vehicles have fortified the grounds. The president’s security service has also fortified the area with barbed wire.
On December 3, Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops to surround the national assembly, which only lasted for a few hours before lawmakers managed to pass the blockade and vote to lift it.
When the Assembly, which was overwhelmingly opposed to him, voted to impeach him on December 14 and charged him with rebellion, his presidential powers were suspended. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun to decide whether to officially remove Yoon from office or to drop the charges and re-establish him.
There is also rumors that police will try to detain Park and other presidential security service leaders before re-trying to execute Yoon’s detention warrant, which was renewed by a Seoul court on Tuesday.
Park once more criticized the detention of Yoon when he spoke to reporters after arriving for police questioning, claiming that the investigation should proceed in a manner “appropriate for the status of an incumbent president” and the “dignity of the nation.”
” Many citizens are undoubtedly deeply concerned about the potential conflict and confrontation between government agencies,” Park said. I’m hoping to prevent such things from happening because I believe there should never be any physical altercations or bloodshed in this place.
Park claimed to have called Choi several times to ask him to mediate an alternative strategy with the police, and that he also had contacted Yoon’s attorneys in the past, but he never received a satisfactory response.
Yoon is required to have protection under the presidential security act, but it does not authorize the service to obstruct court-ordered detentions. According to some legal experts, the service’s action last week may have been unlawful.
National court administration head Cheon Dae-yeop said on Friday that “resistance without a legitimate reason can constitute a crime, such as obstructing official duties,” when asked in parliament about the presidential security service’s effort to halt the detention.
Although the president has broad-ranging immunity from prosecution while in office, it does not apply to allegations of treason or rebellion.
Yoon’s attorneys have questioned the validity of a new arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Western District Court, alleging that the anti-corruption agency has no authority to investigate allegations of rebellion or to impose detention orders on suspects.
They also contend that Yoon’s arrest and search warrants cannot be carried out at his residence, citing a law that prohibits searches of locations that might be connected to military secrets without the permission of the person in charge, which would be Yoon.
Yoon’s attorneys have urged the government to either indict the president or request a formal arrest warrant, a procedure that necessitates a court hearing. However, they have stated that Yoon will only abide by an arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, which handles the majority of important inquiries in high-profile cases.
Despite the fact that the official residence is located within the purview of the western district court, they accuse the agency of purposefully choosing another court with an allegedly favorable judge.
