SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s acting leader said Friday that President Park Jeong-joon faced police investigation over his forces blocking law enforcement efforts to detain impeached President Yun-seok. I have accepted the resignation of the Chief of Police. Yoru last week.
Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, acting leader of the party, also expressed regret over the clashes between law enforcement officials and presidential security officials and called on lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement to launch an independent investigation.
The High-ranking Public Official Corruption Investigation Office and the police are jointly investigating whether Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law on December 3 constitutes an attempted rebellion, and are planning to detain him again. Yun has not left the official residence for several weeks, but the Presidential Security Bureau tried to prevent him from doing so.
Reliable news and daily fun delivered to your inbox
See for yourself — Yodel is your go-to source for daily news, entertainment, and fun stories.
It was not immediately clear how Park’s resignation and Choi’s request for an independent investigation to take over the investigation into Choi would affect the push for Yoon’s detention.
“The government has continued to consider ways to find a sensible solution, but unfortunately the current legal framework makes it difficult to find a clear solution to end the conflict between the two institutions,” Choi said. He spoke about the tension between the department and the government. The Presidential Security Bureau has revealed the possibility of Yoon being detained.
“We strongly urge the ruling and opposition parties to cooperate toward the passage of a bill to initiate an investigation by the special prosecutor, which is constitutionally acceptable. By doing so, the ongoing bitter conflict will be naturally resolved.”
The main liberal opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, accused Choi of using the pretext of neutrality to justify his refusal to comply with court-issued warrants.
“This is tantamount to a public declaration of support for the rebel leader,” said Noh Jong-myung, a party lawmaker and spokesperson.
On Thursday, opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Japan introduced a bill calling for an independent investigation into allegations of rebellion against Yun.
The previous bill, in which the opposition party had proposed an independent investigation, was scrapped after Yun’s conservative lawmaker opposed a provision that would allow only the opposition party to recommend a special prosecutor candidate.
Conservatives also do not support a new bill that would require the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to recommend two candidates to Yun, who would select one as special prosecutor. According to the bill, if Yun declines to appoint someone, the older of the two candidates would automatically fill the role.
President Park was subpoenaed twice before appearing for questioning on Friday on suspicion of obstruction of justice, a week after Park’s military chased dozens of anti-corruption agents and police investigators from Prime Minister Yoon’s official residence. ignored. Park said her mission was to protect the president and warned of the risk of “bloodshed” amid criticism that her office had become Yoon’s private army.
The embattled president remains holed up in his official residence in Seoul, but presidential security officials have fortified the compound with barbed wire and lines of vehicles blocking roads.
Mr. Yun briefly declared martial law and deployed troops to surround Parliament on December 3, but it lasted only a few hours before lawmakers managed to break through the blockade and vote to lift the measures.
On December 14, the opposition-dominated parliament voted to impeach him for treason, suspending his presidential powers. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberating whether to formally remove Yun from office or dismiss the charges and reinstate him.
A Seoul court on Tuesday issued a new warrant for anti-corruption agencies to detain Yoon after a previous one-week warrant expired. The agency and police have not announced an expiration date for the new warrant.
Park, who arrived for police questioning, once again criticized efforts to detain Yoon and told reporters that the investigation should proceed in a manner befitting the “status of a sitting president” and the “dignity of the nation.” .
President Park said, “Many people must be deeply concerned about the possibility of friction and conflict between government agencies.” “I come here today with the belief that under no circumstances should there be physical confrontation or bloodshed, and I hope that such incidents will never occur.”
Park said he called Choi several times to urge him to broker another approach with law enforcement and made a similar request to Yoon’s lawyer, but received no satisfactory response. . The Anti-Corruption Bureau also criticized Choi for refusing to instruct the Presidential Security Bureau to cooperate in executing the arrest warrant.
After 13 hours of interrogation, Park reappeared, but left in her car without answering reporters’ questions about why she had asked Choi to resign.
Although the Presidential Security Act requires Yoon to be protected, it does not give the agency the authority to block a court-ordered detention, and some legal experts say the presidential security agency’s actions last week may have been illegal. It is pointed out that there is.
Asked in the National Assembly about the Presidential Security Bureau’s efforts to prevent the detention, Chung Dae-yeop, director of the National Court of Justice, said on Friday, “Resistance without a justifiable reason could constitute a crime such as obstructing the execution of official duties.”
The president himself enjoys broad immunity from prosecution while in office, but this does not extend to charges of sedition or treason.
Mr. Yoon’s lawyers have questioned the legitimacy of a new arrest warrant issued against Mr. Yoon by the Seoul Western District Court, saying that anti-corruption agencies are not allowed to investigate sedition charges or that police are required to detain suspects. He claimed he had no legal authority to order it.
They also cited a law that protects locations potentially related to military secrets from searches without the consent of the person in charge (which would be Mr. Yun), and that the detention and search warrant against Mr. Yun was not carried out at his residence. They claim that it cannot be enforced.
Yun’s lawyers are asking the agency to either indict the president or file a formal arrest warrant that would require a court hearing. But they said Yoon would only comply with an arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, which handles most important requests in high-profile cases.
They accuse authorities of intentionally choosing another court with allegedly more favorable judges, even though the official residence is within the jurisdiction of the Western District Court. In Seoul, the political paralysis created by Yoon’s martial law and impeachment could put him at a disadvantage in establishing a stable foothold with Donald Trump ahead of his return to the White House. There are concerns that
On Friday, Yun’s office confirmed that on December 14, immediately after his impeachment, media outlets said he met with Matt Schlapp, the leader of the American Conservative Union and a Trump ally, to discuss the political situation in South Korea. confirmed the report.
