The People Power Party argued that a document revealed by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which purportedly granted them access to the Presidential residence a day before the execution of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s second arrest warrant, was illegal and void.
Lee Yang-soo, the Secretary-General of the People Power Party, stated at a strategy meeting in the National Assembly that the disclosed access authorization document was composed of a note attached to the investigation cooperation request document from the Corruption Investigation Office, stamped by the commander of the 55th Guard Group under the Defense Security Support Command. He claimed, “There is no agency in South Korea that would attach a note to a requested document for a reply.”
He emphasized that this constitutes a “very serious allegation of forgery of official documents that must be thoroughly examined for its legality,” pointing out that “the Corruption Investigation Office is not above the law.”
People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom also remarked, “The Corruption Investigation Office is now even suspected of self-approving access to the residence to arrest the President.”
The People Power Party’s National Defense Committee members held a press conference at the National Assembly, criticizing the Corruption Investigation Office for allegedly using coercion, expedient methods, and illegal practices to obtain the access authorization document from the 55th Guard Group on January 14th. They denounced these actions as “unforgivable and blatant abuse of authority against soldiers dedicated to the nation.”
They explained that in the process of obtaining residence access authorization, the Corruption Investigation Office supposedly requested additional investigation falsely, forced proxy stamping through pressure, and had suspicions of document forgery.
They claimed, “The Corruption Investigation Office lured the commander of the 55th Guard Group under false pretenses of further investigation,” calling such actions deceitful. They also stated, “The Corruption Investigation Office sent four personnel to demand a seal from the commander, and even asked if proxy stamping would be acceptable, which was a clear act of coercion.”
Additionally, they explained that the Corruption Investigation Office obtained the official seal at 2:45 PM on the 14th, attaching a note to the document allowing access under specific laws, and asked if they could stamp the document, to which the commander allegedly responded to stamp it wherever they saw fit.
The lawmakers questioned the legal basis for proxy stamping, which should typically be done by the approving authority directly, and demanded this be clarified.
The People Power Party’s Legal Committee also held a press conference, emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation by prosecutorial and investigatory agencies into this self-approval incident. They alleged that there was now a factual basis for claims that the Corruption Investigation Office had coerced the commander of the 55th Guard Group to approve Presidential residence access.
They further claimed that despite later receiving official notice from the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential Security Service indicating the 55th Guard Group did not have authority to approve residence access, the Corruption Investigation Office falsely announced to the media that access had been granted.
They expressed the urgency for a thorough investigation into what they termed a “shoddy and hasty” process involving attachments of shabby notes to official documents, implying an urgent need to uncover the truth.