Vice Administrator Kim Sung-hoon of the Presidential Security Service, who is accused of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk-yeol, said on the 21st, "If I neglect my duties out of fear of punishment, then I believe there is no reason for the existence of the Security Service."
Arriving at the court for a pre-arrest interrogation at the Seoul Western District Court around 10:03 a.m., Vice Administrator Kim stated, "Security officers are trained to believe that the highest honor is sacrificing their lives for the safety of the president." The decision on whether he will be detained is expected as early as that day.
Vice Administrator Kim and the head of the Security Department, Lee Kwang-ho, who attended the interrogation, are reported to have been hardliners who insisted that they must physically prevent the execution of the arrest warrant against President Yoon during its execution by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the police in January. They are also facing allegations of abusing their authority by ordering the unjust personnel actions against executives who opposed the obstruction and deleting security phone records.
Vice Administrator Kim arrived at the court dressed in a suit and wearing a black mask. When reporters asked, "Did you receive instructions from President Yoon to obstruct the execution of the warrant?" he replied, "It's not about any instructions; I merely performed my security duties according to the law."
When asked whether he saw the actions as a violation of the execution of a lawful warrant, he responded, "We do not make judgments on the legality of the warrant. The police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials invaded by illegally damaging the front gate without prior notice or presentation of a warrant. Shouldn't that have been prevented?"
Vice Administrator Kim denied allegations that President Yoon ordered the use of firearms or that First Lady Kim Keon-hee reproached him with, "Why didn't you use firearms?" He also stated regarding the claims that President Yoon instructed the deletion of secure phone server records, "That's not true. We merely took precautions according to regulations. There was no order to delete anything."
Meanwhile, at around 9:53 a.m., the head of the department, Lee, responded to reporters' questions with, "I'll just be going, thank you for your hard work."
As Vice Administrator Kim and others appeared, some supporters outside the courthouse shouted loudly, "Long live the Presidential Security Service," and "The Security Service is innocent."