As the chaos surrounding President Yoon’s arrest warrant continues with his security team thwarting its execution, the investigation team emphasized that these actions will be considered an obstruction of public duties.
Our Ahn Sung-jin reports.
The head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials pledged to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon by January 6th, which is the deadline for the execution of the arrest warrant designated by the issuing court.
On Wednesday, chief prosecutor Oh Dong-woon urged the Presidential Security Service to comply with the execution.
“We will be strictly enforcing the law, but we will also remain polite so please respond to our requests.”
When asked whether he had sent a warning to the Presidential Security Service, Oh replied that he had done so on Tuesday and emphasized that if officers persist, they may be arrested for the special obstruction of public duty and abuse of authority.
He specifically highlighted that he already regards moves such as setting up barricades or locking gates as obstruction of public duty.
Oh stated that the CIO will be taking the proper steps regardless of any opposition and will exercise its authority, in line with principles, to move forward with arrest and search warrants.
This comes as President Yoon’s legal counsel filed for an interim injunction request asking for a competence dispute and suspension of effect, which Oh argues is not due process.
Following President Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3rd, South Korea has been undergoing political chaos, especially after the arrest warrant was issued.
This unprecedented and first-time-ever event may lead Yoon to become the first sitting president to face arrest, though his legal team has reiterated that the warrant is “illegal and invalid”.
The exact timing of any actual detention remains unclear and it is allegedly being discussed with the Joint Investigation headquarters.
Though they can request an extension, investigators have until next Monday to execute the warrant.
Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279521
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