Police seize ‘secret phone’ allegedly used by police chief to communicate with president during martial law

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Police seize ‘secret phone’ allegedly used by police chief to communicate with president during martial law

Published: 13 Dec. 2024, 17:35

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after attending an arrest warrant hearing on Friday. [YONHAP]

Police said Friday that they have seized a “secret phone” used by National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho to communicate with President Yoon Suk Yeol when martial law was declared on Dec. 3.

According to an official from the police's National Office of Investigation (NOI), Cho used the secret phone to communicate with the president six times.

The phone, a secure mobile device equipped with anti-wiretap and call-recording prevention programs, was confiscated during a police raid at the National Police Agency on Wednesday. The police are currently tracking the location of the phone’s server.

Cho, who is under emergency arrest, had earlier submitted his personal phone, which was returned after two days of digital forensic analysis.

When asked whether Cho had used the secret phone to call former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun or former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, the police said they “cannot confirm.”

The police have also accused Cho of tampering with evidence. They say he testified that he tore up a document from the president listing around 10 locations where martial law commands were to be sent, just hours before the declaration. An NOI official said the document was not secured, and the individuals involved could not recall its exact contents.

Additionally, the police revealed that Kim Bong-sik, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who is accused of ordering the blockage of the National Assembly entrance, used a general cell phone during the operation. Kim has also been detained under emergency arrest.

A court held hearings Friday for arrest warrants for both Cho and Kim, with a decision expected later in the evening.

Police have indicated that they may conduct a raid on Cho’s official residence if necessary. They are also considering a second raid on the Yongsan presidential office, while a raid on Yoon’s residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan, is still under review.

On the same day, police raided the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police headquarters as part of their investigation into the martial law declaration. Officers from the Gyeonggi Nambu police had been deployed to the National Election Commission offices in Gwacheon and Suwon, Gyeonggi, during the imposition of martial law.

So far, police have questioned four Cabinet members who attended the meeting preceding the martial law declaration. Nine military officials and four individuals have also been interrogated.

Police have been conducting joint investigations into the martial law declaration, with the Defense Ministry and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, since Thursday.

Former Defense Counterintelligence Command Commander Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung attends an intelligence committee meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Meanwhile, the prosecution’s special investigation headquarters sought an arrest warrant Friday for former Defense Counterintelligence Command Commander Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, accusing him of involvement in insurrection and abuse of power.

Prosecutors believe that Yeo deployed his subordinates to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission under orders from the former defense minister.

Prosecutors also summoned Army Special Warfare Commander Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun for the second time on the same day.

Kwak testified that he was ordered to forcibly remove lawmakers from the National Assembly during martial law, as mentioned in a parliamentary defense committee session on Tuesday. He also claimed he was instructed to secure six locations, including the National Assembly, three branches of the National Election Commission and the headquarters of the liberal Democratic Party.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]