“Special Prosecutor Yoon-jae Lee, Chief Prosecutor Guk-won among 6 prosecutors involved”
“Welcoming Ahn Cheol-soo anytime if he’s willing to cooperate for truth-finding”,
Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min arrives for a pre-arrest interrogation at the Seoul Central District Court on the afternoon of the 31st. Former Minister Lee is suspected of ordering ‘power and water cuts to media outlets’ during the 12/3 martial law. 2025.7.31/News1 © News1 Song Song-yi,
,
, ‘(Seoul=News1) Reporters Jae-min Jeong and Doo-hyun Hwang = The special investigation team (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok) investigating the rebellion and foreign affairs case related to the 12/3 martial law stated on the 31st regarding the pre-arrest interrogation of Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, “We submitted a statement justifying the necessity of arrest on the 29th and are prepared for the interrogation with a PowerPoint of over 160 slides.”‘,
,
, ‘The special investigation team also addressed Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party, who opposed the request for a witness statement, saying, “If Rep. Ahn decides to actively cooperate for the purpose of truth-finding and visits us, we would welcome him at any time.”‘,
,
, ‘Deputy Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young stated at a regular briefing held at the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office that “The pre-arrest interrogation for Former Minister Lee started at 2 p.m. today. Special Prosecutor Yoon-jae Lee, Chief Prosecutor Guk-won among 6 prosecutors are participating,” confirming this information.’,
,
, ‘Deputy Special Prosecutor Park mentioned the volume of the statement, “You may be surprised by the volume. We submitted a statement on the 29th with about 300 pages, mainly consisting of photos.”‘,
,
, ‘He continued, “The statement primarily contains evidence justifying the main allegations, the severity of the crime involved, potential risk of re-offense, reasons for arrest, and concerns about evidence destruction.”‘,
,
, ‘Regarding whether the footage of Former Minister Lee captured on the presidential office’s CCTV would be presented, Deputy Special Prosecutor Park replied, “Of course, such evidence is likely to be shown.”‘,
,
, ‘Former Minister Lee is accused of ordering power and water cuts to media outlets and previously claimed that he did not receive such orders directly from former President Yoon Suk-yeol during martial law. He stated that he merely perceived documents about power and water cuts from a distance when he entered the presidential office and subsequently called the Fire Commissioner for unusual situation checks.’,
,
, ‘However, the special investigation team obtained video footage showing Former Minister Lee holding documents on a table in the presidential reception area and talking with Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.’,
,
, ‘The special investigation team also requested investigation as a witness status for National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik concerning obstruction of parliamentary decision, with the timing and method of investigation currently under discussion.’,
,
, ‘In response to the question about “adjusting the summoning schedule with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo,” Deputy Special Prosecutor Park explained, “Rep. Ahn explicitly stated he does not intend to appear, so there has been no additional summons request.”‘,
,
, ‘However, he added, “If he expresses a voluntary intention to appear, he can call us anytime. Typically, when a witness asks, even if initially declined, if they decide to testify we are always ready to conduct an investigation.”‘,
,
, “On the other hand, when appearing in court today, Former Minister Lee did not respond to reporters’ questions regarding ‘whether he ordered power and water cuts to the Fire Commissioner,’ ‘the content of the documents viewed in the presidential office,’ or ‘accepting charges of perjury in the Constitutional Court,’ and entered the court.”,
,
, ‘The results of the pre-arrest interrogation for Former Minister Lee are expected to be determined as early as late this afternoon.’]