Internal rebellion investigation transferred to Public Prosecutor's Office

The prosecution, which is investigating the illegal martial law of December 3, decided on the 18th to transfer the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is suspected of being the leader of the internal rebellion, to the High-ranking Civil Servants' Corruption Investigation Office (Public Prosecutor's Office). On the same day, the Special Investigation Unit of the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency dispatched investigators to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The martial law investigation, which had been in chaos due to competition between the prosecution, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the police, has been reorganized into a 'Presidential investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office,' 'Military investigation by the prosecution,' and 'Police investigation by the police command.' It is expected that President Yoon's appearance investigation will also be conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the future.

On this day, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Joint Investigation Headquarters (JIH) announced that as a result of their consultation, the prosecution decided to transfer the cases of President Yoon and former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The Public Prosecutor's Office had previously requested that the prosecution and the police transfer the cases by the 18th. The police transferred most of the cases, including President Yoon’s case, to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials two days earlier (the 16th), but the prosecution continued the investigation, stating that it was “in consultation.” Some in the prosecution investigation team are also perplexed by the decision to transfer the case on this day.

The prosecution made the sudden decision to transfer the case because it considered the possibility that President Yoon would later dispute or deny the evidentiary value of the evidence secured by the prosecution in court, using the excuse of “refusing to transfer the case.” The consultation between the two agencies took place when Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Jin-dong visited the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and met with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Director Oh Dong-woon.

According to the agreement on this day, the confusion caused by the overlapping investigations is expected to be resolved. The request for President Yoon’s attendance and face-to-face investigation will also be centered around the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun (incarcerated) and other military leaders plan to have the prosecution’s Special Martial Law Investigation Headquarters continue the investigation. Once the investigation is completed, the prosecution will likely indict.


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