On the 24th, the police re-applied for arrest warrants for Kim Seong-hoon, Vice Administrator of the Presidential Security Service, and Lee Kwang-woo, Head of the Security Department, who are suspected of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Team of the National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency stated that they filed pre-arrest warrants with the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office against Kim and Lee on charges of obstructing special public duties. The police believe an arrest is necessary for Kim due to reasons such as ▲ attempts to delete confidentiality phone communication records ▲ consideration of using firearms ▲ and possible retaliation against employees who did not comply with orders to thwart the arrests.
They were known as "hardliners" who argued that they should use physical force to prevent the execution of the arrest warrant against President Yoon. The police summoned the two on the 3rd for allegedly obstructing the first execution of the arrest warrant against President Yoon, but they failed to respond to three summons.
The two were arrested after appearing before the police on the 17th and 18th, following President Yoon's arrest on the 15th. While the police applied for an arrest warrant for Kim on the 18th, it was rejected by the prosecution, leading to both being released. They appeared before the police for additional questioning at around 7:30 a.m. on that day.
After securing testimonies from personnel in the Presidential Security Service that Lee was instructed to consider using a firearm during the execution of the second arrest warrant against President Yoon, the police conducted further investigations and re-applied for the arrest warrant on that day.
The two are also suspected of attempting to use firearms to prevent the execution of the arrest warrant. It is reported that the police secured testimony that Lee instructed to "move two MP7 submachine guns and 80 rounds of live ammunition to the family protection unit inside the residence." In response to this, Lee issued a statement the day before, saying it was "for preparation against protesters, not the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials."
When asked about the related suspicions by reporters, Vice Administrator Kim stated, "I already said there is no such fact," adding, "These are not weapons deployed in the area; they are firearms that are regularly stationed during normal times."