Commissioner Jo Ji-ho of the Korean National Police Agency and Commissioner Kim Bong-sik of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who are accused of involvement in the 'Dec. 3 martial law crisis,' will be handed over to the prosecution on the 20th.
The special investigation team of the National Police Agency noted on the 19th that Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Administrator Kim Bong-sik are undergoing the final police investigation. They are charged with engaging in important roles in sedition under the Criminal Act. Both individuals were urgently arrested by the police in the early hours of the 11th. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the police can detain suspects for investigation for up to 10 days, so they must be handed over to the prosecution by the 20th.
Both were detained after the emergency arrest; however, Commissioner Jo's health deteriorated due to leukemia, leading to hospitalization at the Police Hospital on the 14th. It was reported that the special team visited the hospital to investigate Commissioner Jo. On the same day, Administrator Kim underwent a second investigation following the detention.
According to the police, Commissioner Jo Ji-ho and Administrator Kim Bong-sik testified that they met President Yoon Suk-yeol at the presidential residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, around 7 p.m. on the 3rd, prior to the announcement of martial law, and received an A4 document marked 'control institutions.' However, Commissioner Jo stated that the document was torn at the official residence, while Administrator Kim claimed, "The document does not exist." The police viewed this as an indication of evidence destruction and cited it as a reason for the arrest warrant application.
Additionally, they are accused of imposing a complete entry restriction to the National Assembly at the time of the martial law declaration, blocking members of the National Assembly and others from entering to vote for the lifting of martial law.