Regarding the controversy surrounding the issuance and execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 7th, Director of the National Court Administration Cheon Dae-yeop said, “We must first respect trials that were conducted in accordance with legal procedures.” He criticized President Yoon’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation, claiming that the arrest warrant issued by the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office (Corruption Investigation Office) was an “illegal arrest warrant.”
Director Cheon attended the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly held at the National Assembly this afternoon and said, “The rule of law is to dispute (regarding arrest warrants) through procedures such as objections and arrest warrants.” Director Cheon also said that the fact that the arrest warrant contains an exception to Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which stipulate that a search can be refused on the grounds of military confidentiality, “follows the mainstream view.” This is a direct rebuttal to President Yoon’s claim that the court issued an arrest warrant with this exception, calling it an ‘illegal and invalid arrest warrant.’
Oh Dong-woon, head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office, pointed out on this day, “We recognize that resisting the execution of an arrest warrant issued by the court through security authority is an act that should be highly criticized as it shakes the foundation of the rule of law.” Regarding the failure to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon, Director Oh said, “It is very heartbreaking to see the rule of law being undermined because the arrest warrant was not properly executed. “I sincerely apologize to the people,” he said. “We will thoroughly prepare with the extraordinary determination that the second warrant execution will be the last execution.”
Regarding Acting President Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, requesting the police to cooperate with the Secret Service’s work during the first attempt to execute the arrest warrant on the 3rd, Director Oh said, “The possibility of illegality is very high.” It is known that Acting President Choi received a request from the President’s Office at the time and requested Acting Police Commissioner Lee Ho-young to deploy police to his official residence.
Reporter Lee Sang-heon dapaper@donga.com
Source: www.donga.com
