Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was investigated overnight by police regarding allegations that he ordered power and water cuts to some media outlets during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law and returned home on the 19th.
The police special investigation team for the emergency martial law summoned former Minister Lee as a suspect for treason around 2 p.m. the day before. After about 18 hours, he completed the investigation and returned home around 7:40 a.m. He is accused of ordering power and water cuts to media outlets such as Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang Newspaper, and MBC during the martial law period.
Former Minister Lee reportedly did not exercise his right to remain silent during the investigation and denied the allegations. Starting around 4 a.m., he reviewed and modified the suspect interrogation records for more than three hours.
It is reported that the police questioned former Minister Lee about whether he received directives for power and water cuts from former President Yoon, as well as whether he implemented them.
The police conducted the investigation based on testimonies from witnesses among fire department officials and forensic results from seized items obtained from former Minister Lee's residence and offices in Seoul and Sejong on Feb. 18.