Public Prosecution Office "Delegates 'Yoon Arrest Warrant Execution' to Police but Retains Investigation Authority"

Public Prosecution Office Briefing

"Under current law, delegation of warrant execution to police is possible… Public Prosecution Office faces manpower limitations"

Photo by Lim Hyung-taek

The High-ranking Officials Crime Investigation Agency (Public Prosecution Office) emphasized that while it delegated the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol to the police on the expiration date of the warrant, the investigation authority remains with the Public Prosecution Office.

Lee Jae-seung, Deputy Director of the Public Prosecution Office, held a briefing at the Government Complex Gwacheon, explaining the reason for delegating the execution of the arrest warrant to the police: "Considering the police's expertise in warrant execution and the uniformity of on-site command, we judged that delegating the execution to the National Investigation Headquarters of the police could promote a faster and more efficient procedure."

Deputy Director Lee stated, "We did not anticipate the strong resistance from President Yoon's side during the attempted execution of the arrest warrant on the 3rd," adding, "We thought it would be better for the police to quickly suppress and proceed."

He further disclosed, "Around 9 PM on the 5th, we directed the National Investigation Headquarters of the police to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol." He explained that under Article 47 of the Public Prosecution Office Act and Articles 81 and 200-6 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the execution of the warrant can be delegated to judicial police officers (police). He also stated that they would apply for an extension of the warrant's validity period to the court, noting that if a validity period of more than seven days is needed, they can obtain a judge's approval by stating the reasons.

Additionally, he confessed the limitations of the Public Prosecution Office's investigative capabilities. Deputy Director Lee admitted, "Even if we gather all our manpower, it's only 50 people, so how can we break through a 200-person scrum (an act of people linking arms and forming a group)? We acknowledge our manpower limitations."

Regarding the possibility of re-referring the case to the police, he gave a negative response, saying, "There are advantages to the Joint Investigation Headquarters, so the police are willingly cooperating by accepting the referral." He also clarified that if President Yoon is arrested, the Public Prosecution Office will be the main body conducting the investigation.

When asked about the possibility of re-referring the case to the prosecution, he said, "We will fulfill our role according to the procedure and (consider it)." The Public Prosecution Office does not have the authority to prosecute President Yoon.

Previously, the Joint Investigation Headquarters, composed of the Public Prosecution Office and the police, executed the arrest warrant together on the 3rd. The primary entity executing the warrant is the Public Prosecution Office. However, the police, who are investigating the martial law situation, also sent detectives to support the Public Prosecution Office and the Joint Investigation Headquarters. After confronting the Presidential Security Service for over 5 hours and 20 minutes, they withdrew, judging the execution to be impossible.

Jin Young-ki, Hankyung.com reporter young71@hankyung.com