Hong Jang-won, the former Vice Administrator of the National Intelligence Service, became a subject of controversy during the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol over a so-called arrest list that he reportedly heard over the phone from former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyeong and took notes on. Constitutional Court Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik pointed out that the National Intelligence Service does not have arrest authority, yet Hong wrote 'arrest request' in his notes. He also expressed confusion as to why Hong noted down the arrest order when he deemed it unreasonable.
According to reports, Hong testified earlier that shortly after the declaration of martial law at around 10:53 p.m., President Yoon called him and said, 'Catch them all this time. Clean everything up.' He continued that at around 11:06 p.m., he called former Commander Yeo, who asked him to identify their locations and provided a list of those to be arrested, which Hong noted down and later submitted as evidence to the prosecution.
Hong appeared as a witness for the National Assembly during the fifth hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial held on the 4th. His handwritten notes were also submitted as evidence to the Constitutional Court. It is reported that these notes included the names of the first and second arrest targets, and phrases such as 'arrest request (location tracking)' and 'detention investigation at the Counterintelligence Agency.' The list of arrest targets reportedly included National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.
After the witness examination by the National Assembly and President Yoon's side concluded, Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik asked Hong, 'It seems that you did not mention in the prosecution investigation that there was a request for an arrest; did Yeo In-hyeong request an arrest?' In response, Hong said, 'I understood that his request to track the location itself was for the purpose of arresting the targets.'
In response, Justice Jeong asked, 'Wasn't it unnecessary for Yeo In-hyeong to explicitly mention the need for an arrest?' He further queried, 'Why is the National Intelligence Service going around making arrests? Does the National Intelligence Service have personnel to make arrests?' To this, Hong replied, 'Since the National Intelligence Service has no investigation authority, it does not have the right to arrest, but it has the ability to cooperate with the police for arrests.'
When Justice Jeong asked, 'Then shouldn't it be right to write that it was an arrest support?', Hong acknowledged, 'I admit that it's not rational because I did not write it out of deep thought; I scribbled it as it came to mind.'
Justice Jeong expressed doubt regarding Yeo having provided Hong with the entire arrest list and having discussed the plan to detain at the Counterintelligence Agency, stating, 'The counterintelligence commander is someone who sensitively preserves information; I wonder if they would have easily discussed it.'
Additionally, although Hong stated in a media interview that upon hearing the list provided by Yeo, he thought, 'This is nonsensical, it's crazy,' and subsequently did not take any more notes, Justice Jeong pointed out the inconsistency in closely noting down content he found illogical. Hong responded, 'In a situation where things were unfolding rapidly, could I have performed according to a coherent narrative?'
Listening to the exchange between the two, President Yoon gained the floor to make a direct statement. He said, 'The National Intelligence Service has no investigative authority, and it cannot even pursue arrests, let alone track locations,' adding, 'The counterintelligence commander would not be unaware of this, and I view Hong's arrest memo as nonsensical.'
He continued to assert that the comments made to Hong over the phone on the day of the martial law were unrelated to the martial law itself. President Yoon explained, 'Since I had already discussed matters related to martial law with the head of the National Intelligence Service, the decision to call Hong was merely to encourage him,' and added, 'Regarding espionage operations, since the National Intelligence Service possesses substantial information, I asked them to support the Counterintelligence Agency.'