Yoon Suk-yeol /Courtesy of News1

The Korean National Police Agency will hand over the request for an arrest warrant against former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has refused to appear for questioning three times, to the special prosecutor for insurrection. Additionally, the Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters special investigation team, which has been investigating former President Yoon, is moving towards disbandment.

An official from the special investigation team said at a regular press briefing on the 23rd, "We received a formal request for the case transfer from the special prosecutor on the 19th," adding, "We will transfer relevant investigation records and evidence on the 26th in accordance with the special prosecutor law." The official continued, "Once the transfer of case records and evidence is completed, the special investigation team will effectively be disbanded." Thus, the special prosecutor will continue the investigation into the case of former President Yoon.

The official noted, "We have continuously discussed with the special prosecutor regarding whether to apply for a warrant against former President Yoon. We exchanged views over the weekend, and we are currently in practical discussions," stating that a decision has been effectively made for the special prosecutor to proceed.

Former President Yoon is facing accusations of instructing to obstruct the execution of an arrest warrant against him and directing the deletion of secret phone information by military commanders to destroy evidence. Earlier, the police notified former President Yoon of a summons investigation three times to investigate these allegations, but he did not comply with any of them. Typically, when a suspect fails to appear without valid reasons for three summons, the investigation agency applies for an arrest or detention warrant, and this decision will be handed over to the special prosecutor.

The police will also hand over investigation records on 85 suspects receiving charges of insurrection or obstructing special public duties to the special prosecutor. This includes former Minister of the Presidential Security Service Park Jong-jun, former Vice Administrator Kim Seong-hoon, and former Deputy Minister Lee Gwang-woo, who were involved in obstructing the execution of the arrest warrant against former President Yoon. The police have also recently summoned former Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae and former Director of the National Intelligence Service Jo Tae-yong for additional questioning in relation to the emergency martial law.

Along with this, the police have decided to successively dispatch 31 investigators, including Park Chang-hwan, head of the Major Crimes Investigation Division of the Korean National Police Agency, to the special prosecutor by the 26th.

Meanwhile, the police reportedly applied for a search warrant related to the insurrection investigation recently, but it was rejected by the prosecution. A police official stated, "It is not a search warrant for the residence of former President Yoon, AcroVista," but added, "It is not appropriate to provide specific explanations." However, it was reported that the prosecution rejected the warrant application on the grounds of the transfer of the special prosecutor's case.

The special investigation team of the Korean National Police Agency launched officially on December 8th to investigate the emergency martial law incident that occurred in December of last year. It formed a joint investigation headquarters with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and military prosecution to arrest former President Yoon on charges of being the leader of the insurrection and bring him to trial.