It was revealed on the 23rd that Nosangwon, a former commander of the National Intelligence Service, who is accused of pre-planning the 'Dec. 12 coup,' attempted to establish a separate investigation unit, known as 'Investigation Unit 2,' at the so-called ' Lotteria meeting' just before the martial law.
A representative of the special investigation team of the National Police Agency stated at a press conference in the morning that, during the process of emergency arresting former commander No at his residence on the 15th, a notebook belonging to him was secured. Investigation Unit 2 was an organization that former commander No intended to establish in preparation for martial law.
The police noted, "After the proclamation of martial law, a joint investigation headquarters was to be established, but former commander No intended to operate a separate Investigation Unit 2 based on the Intelligence Service and Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters." The police confirmed that they secured the relevant documents from the Ministry of National Defense and are currently obtaining related personnel statements.
According to the police, former commander No held meetings twice at a Lotteria branch in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, intending to create Investigation Unit 2 comprising three departments. It is also understood that former commander No prepared personnel order documents in advance for deploying military personnel to Investigation Unit 2 after the proclamation issuance.
The police stated, "Although the author of the documents could not be identified, it was established that former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyeon retrieved documents from an envelope and delivered them after the proclamation issuance," adding that this served as the basis for drafting even personnel order documents.
It was reported that Investigation Unit 2 was tasked with securing the central election management committee servers as its first order. The police mentioned, "The mission was assigned to secure the election management committee's servers, involving about 60 members from the director general to the troops. No contents related to the proclamation were found in the notebook." However, the identity of the director general has not been disclosed.
The document reportedly listed around 60 people including the investigation director, among whom 15 military personnel suspected of rebellion and abuse of authority were listed as defendants.
◇ Police plan joint investigation if President Yoon attends Corruption Investigation Office
Regarding the investigation of President Yoon, the police have announced plans for a joint investigation should President Yoon comply with the attendance demand from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 25th. A member of the special unit remarked, "Officers will be deployed on-site to ask questions, hence the term joint investigation." Previously, the joint investigation headquarters, composed of the special unit, Corruption Investigation Office, and Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters, sent a summons request to President Yoon, asking to appear at 10 a.m. on the 25th at the government's Gwacheon office of the Corruption Investigation Office in person as a suspect.
However, the police stated they would address what actions to take if President Yoon does not comply with the summons on the 25th at a later date. Concerning whether an arrest warrant or detention warrant would be requested, the police responded that they are continuously coordinating and reviewing with the Corruption Investigation Office. Additionally, a presidential office official disclosed that, aside from Park Jong-jun, chief of the security office, two more individuals were summoned and questioned.
Meanwhile, the police announced they sent an official request to the security office and presidential secretariat to preserve data on servers related to the secure phone used by Korean National Police Agency Chief George Ho during conversations with President Yoon. The police attempted to secure this data by obtaining a search warrant on the 17th to the 18th but were denied submission due to security reasons by the presidential security office. However, a seizure and search were conducted on secure phones used by 25 major military personnel, and the police are currently analyzing them.
A special unit representative reported, "The prosecution has been requested to cooperate in the investigation of former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyeon, whose custody is being secured by the prosecution, but the request was denied, leading to a magistrate's approval through the Corruption Investigation Office. The arrest warrant submitted was dismissed by the court.
The police investigation into former captain of the People's Party, Chung Ho, alleged as a co-actor in the rebellion, has not yet been conducted, and a second appearance request has been made.