Jo Ji-ho, commissioner arrested on charges of ordering a blockade of the National Assembly during martial law on Dec. 3, has been hospitalized at the police hospital due to health deterioration caused by blood cancer. Jo is reportedly considering filing for bail (release on conditions such as bail).
The special investigation team of the Korean National Police Agency’s national investigation headquarters stated on the 16th that Jo, who was being held at the Namdaemun police station in Seoul, was transferred to a negative pressure room in the Songpa police hospital on the 14th.
Jo's attorney, Noh Jeong-hwan, met with reporters that day and said, “I heard that the police hospital does not have the capability for treatment due to complications, and bail is the priority since Jo is in a life-threatening situation.”
Previously, Jo had also received treatment at the police hospital on the 12th, immediately after being urgently arrested. At the time, medical staff recommended hospitalization to Jo, but Jo resolutely refused, stating, 'it could harm the organization due to the controversy over special treatment,' attorney Noh explained.
President Yoon Suk-yeol reportedly summoned Jo and Kim Bong-sik, the commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to the president's safe house in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, about three hours before the declaration of martial law on the 3rd. They were given a list of institutions, including the National Assembly, to be taken over by the martial law forces. Jo was allegedly instructed by 'secure phone' six times after the martial law announcement to arrest key members of the National Assembly.