CIO tells Defense Ministry, PSS not to impede next attempt to arrest Yoon
Published: 13 Jan. 2025, 17:37
Updated: 13 Jan. 2025, 17:54
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), arrives for work at the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 13. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/13/1759aa5d-5230-49eb-8e43-e5688d2f78c9.jpg)
Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), arrives for work at the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 13. [YONHAP]
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) said Monday that it sent letters to the Defense Ministry and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) asking them not to impede its next attempt to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The letters were sent by the CIO two weeks after it obtained warrants to search the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, and take Yoon into custody over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
A CIO-led attempt to execute the warrant on Jan. 3 failed in the face of resistance from a combined force of 200 PSS and military personnel who blocked investigators and police from gaining access to the presidential residence.
The CIO’s letter to the PSS highlighted potential legal repercussions for agents who block investigators from taking Yoon into custody.
The agency warned that PSS agents who prevent CIO officials from executing the search and arrest warrants against Yoon could lose their status as civil servants and face future challenges in finding government employment or claiming their pensions.
In an apparent attempt to win over rank-and-file PSS agents, the CIO also said in its letter that those who defy “illegal orders” from their superiors would not face negative consequences.
The PSS has heightened security at the presidential residence by installing barbed wire and setting up barricades and buses around the house.
Former PSS chief Park Chong-jun resigned from his post on Friday amid political furor over his agency’s role in impeding access to Yoon's residence.
Park, who was questioned by the police agency’s National Office of Investigation (NOI) for almost 13 hours on Friday and over 14 hours on Saturday, told reporters he would “faithfully” cooperate with investigators as he appeared for questioning for a third round of questioning on Monday.
Police have opened investigations into four other PSS officials besides Park over the agency’s refusal to allow the CIO to take Yoon into custody.
In its letter to the Defense Ministry, the CIO warned that any soldier who obstructs the execution of Yoon’s arrest warrant could face criminal punishment.
The CIO also warned that such soldiers could be held liable for any injury or material damage that occurs in the process.
![Service members from the Capital Defense Command's 55th Guard Corps blocks investigators from entering the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/13/a88846b6-e363-4865-badb-63cb6223c437.jpg)
Service members from the Capital Defense Command's 55th Guard Corps blocks investigators from entering the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]
When the CIO previously attempted to detain Yoon, service members from the Capital Defense Command’s 55th Guard Corps controversially helped PSS agents block investigators from entering the presidential residence.
Under the Presidential Security Act, the 55th Guard Corps falls under the command of the PSS despite being an Army division as its main mission is to secure the area surrounding the presidential residence.
As such, the PSS was able to order the division to prevent CIO investigators from taking the impeached president into custody.
However, acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho has since communicated to the PSS that it will not allow troops from the Capital Defense Command to hinder efforts to detain Yoon, according to a Defense Ministry official last week.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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