South Korea: Lawmakers from the Ruling Party Demonstrate Against Warrant for Yoon's Detention
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Seoul, Jan 6 (NationPress) Approximately 30 lawmakers from South Korea's ruling party assembled near the presidential residence to protest against the efforts of investigators aiming to detain the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday.
On the previous Friday, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is overseeing the inquiry into Yoon's brief imposition of martial law, attempted to arrest him at his official residence but was forced to withdraw following a lengthy standoff with the Presidential Security Service.
During the protest, Kim Gi-hyeon of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) asserted, "The CIO is acting as if it possesses the authority to conduct investigations, which it does not have."
Among the attendees were PPP representatives Yoon Sang-hyun, Cho Bae-sook, Park Dae-chul, and Kim Seok-ki.
Reports from Yonhap news agency indicated that the CIO has requested police assistance to execute the warrant.
Yoon has declined to comply with the CIO's requests for questioning or warrant execution, arguing that the agency lacks the technical authority to investigate the insurrection charges related to his brief martial law declaration on December 3.
The interim leader of the PPP, Kwon Young-se, emphasized that the CIO does not possess the right to "delegate" investigations to the police.
"The warrant itself raises issues since the CIO lacks the authority to investigate (insurrection charges) and cannot delegate that authority to the police," Kwon informed reporters after a party meeting at the National Assembly.
Earlier that day, Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team lodged complaints with the prosecution against the head of the state anti-corruption agency and ten others regarding last week's attempt to execute a warrant for the detention of the impeached president.
An earlier attempt by the CIO to enforce the warrant for Yoon's detention was unsuccessful last Friday after a prolonged standoff with security personnel at the presidential residence in central Seoul.
Yoon's legal representatives submitted complaints against Oh Dong-woon, the CIO head, and others to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, claiming that the CIO unlawfully executed warrants to detain Yoon and search his residence.
The legal team contended that the CIO had no authority to enlist police officials for the attempt.
They also filed complaints against acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young and acting Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho, accusing them of negligence and abuse of power for ignoring the presidential security service's request for additional security personnel.
On the preceding Sunday, Yoon's legal team announced their intention to file complaints against all police and defense ministry personnel involved in the warrant execution, planning to submit additional complaints once they ascertain the identities of those involved.
