South Korea: Former PSS Chief Faces Police Interrogation for a Second Day Amid Yoon's Detention Controversy
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Seoul, Jan 11 (NationPress) The ex-chief of South Korea's Presidential Security Service (PSS) was summoned by police on Saturday for a second day of interrogation concerning accusations that he hindered the efforts of investigators to detain the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol during a martial law inquiry.
Park Chong-jun, who had resigned as the PSS head just a day earlier, is facing charges of obstructing official duties, as PSS personnel prevented the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) from executing a warrant aimed at detaining Yoon.
Arriving at the Joint Investigation Headquarters in western Seoul around 9 a.m., Park participated in his second round of questioning following a lengthy initial session the previous day.
On Friday, Park resigned right before enduring 13 hours of police questioning, after previously refusing to comply with police summons on two occasions.
The CIO had obtained a new arrest warrant for Yoon on Tuesday after the expiration of a prior seven-day warrant and is currently collaborating with police on another attempt to arrest him.
In the meantime, PSS Deputy Chief Kim Seong-hoon, who is currently acting as the head of the service, rejected a police inquiry request for the third time on Saturday, stating that the importance of his role in protecting Yoon makes it unfeasible for him to leave his position, even briefly.
Kim is expected to spearhead efforts to prevent the execution of the new arrest warrant following Park's resignation, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Police are also anticipated to pursue an arrest warrant for Kim due to his disregard for three summons.
Earlier, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law attempt as "shocking" and "incorrect," while expressing assurance that the South Korea-US alliance remains "incredibly healthy" on a structural level.
During a press conference on Friday, he remarked that the Biden administration had not made significant headway in its denuclearization efforts concerning the Korean Peninsula, with security trends moving in the "wrong" direction. Nonetheless, he emphasized that the US and its allies are in a "materially better" position to deter threats from North Korea.
He also expressed apprehensions about the potential for North Korea to exploit the current political instability in South Korea to conduct provocative actions, while reminding Pyongyang that it "should make no mistake" about the strength of the bilateral alliance.
"The declaration of martial law in early December was astonishing. It was incorrect, and we are observing a constitutional process unfold. Our goal is to ensure it proceeds without violence and in alignment with the ROK Constitution," Sullivan stated, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
South Korea has entered a phase of political turmoil following Yoon's brief declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, and his subsequent impeachment on December 14, 2024.
