The National Police Agency's special investigation unit for martial law launched a search and seizure of the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, and the official residence in Hannam-dong on the 16th. This is the first time a compulsory investigation has been conducted regarding the obstruction of special public duty after former President Yoon was ousted.
On this day, the police are conducting a search and seizure of the secure phone servers, the offices of the Presidential Security Service, and the official residence of the Vice Administrator of the Presidential Security Service, related to the allegations of 'obstruction of the execution of arrest warrants' (obstruction of special public duty) concerning former President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Sung-hoon, the Vice Administrator of the Presidential Security Service.
Former President Yoon and others are accused of attempting to thwart the first arrest attempt by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police special investigation unit on Jan. 3. The Vice Administrator Kim is also suspected of ordering the deletion of records from the secure phone server (abuse of authority under the Presidential Security Act). The subjects of this search include the secure phone server of the Presidential Security Service, the offices of the security service, and the official residence of the Vice Administrator.
The police have captured evidence that former President Yoon exclusively used secure phones after the martial law and believe it is necessary to secure the servers as he allegedly issued instructions to unlawfully obstruct the police's arrest attempts via secure phone.
Police investigators presented search warrants to the security personnel at the entrance of the presidential office and the official residence around 10:13 a.m. However, the presidential office is in a standoff because the Presidential Security Service did not allow the execution of the warrant.
The closed-circuit television (CCTV) of the presidential office concerning former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min's charges of rebellion is also subject to the search and seizure. However, the police stated, 'We recently applied for a search warrant three times to verify the CCTV and secure phone servers related to former Minister Lee's rebellion charges, but the prosecution has rejected them all.'