The prosecution has decided to transfer the case involving allegations of rebellion against President Yoon Suk-yeol related to the December 3 martial law to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Earlier, the police had also handed over President Yoon’s case to the CIO. This decision was made to streamline the investigation channels amid concerns that the concurrent investigations by the prosecution, police, and CIO might allow the defendant to engage in “agency shopping.”
On the morning of the 18th, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced this decision following a consultation with the CIO regarding the martial law incident. The prosecution decided to transfer the cases involving President Yoon and former Minister of the Interior and Safety, Lee Sang-min, concerning charges of rebellion and abuse of power, to the CIO. The CIO plans to withdraw its request for the transfer of other suspects involved in the martial law incident. The prosecution will continue its investigation of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Defense Security Commander Yeo In-hyung, and others.
Previously, on the 8th, the CIO requested the prosecution and police to transfer the martial law-related cases, asking for a response by the 13th. According to the CIO Act, the CIO can request other agencies to transfer cases they are redundantly investigating. However, the prosecution and police did not respond.
In response, on the 11th, the CIO established a joint investigation headquarters with the police and the Ministry of National Defense and reiterated its request for case transfers to the prosecution and police on the 13th. On the 16th, the police transferred the cases involving President Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Army Chief of Staff Park An-soo, former Defense Security Commander Yeo In-hyung, and former Minister Lee Sang-min to the CIO.
Concerns rose regarding the inefficiency of having both the prosecution and the police investigate President Yoon’s case, with the police obtaining evidence and the prosecution securing the suspects. There was fear that the defendant might pick and choose a supposedly favorable investigative body, given that both institutions summoned the same suspect.
Particularly, the prosecution issued a second summons requesting President Yoon to appear by the 21st, while the joint investigation headquarters also asked for his attendance by that day, to which President Yoon did not comply. The previous day, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who is assisting President Yoon, told reporters that “coordination is needed as investigative bodies are competing with each other through summoning, appearance requests, and forced investigations.”