Minister Jeong Seong-ho stated on the 10th regarding the controversy over the use of physical force during the execution of the second arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, "The special prosecutor does not receive supervision from the Ministry of Justice, and the entity executing this arrest warrant is the special prosecutor."
On the same day, Minister Jeong noted in a post on his Facebook, "Many citizens are expressing doubt and concern regarding the arrest of former President Yoon, so I will explain separately," adding, "Contrary to the misunderstanding of many, the special prosecutor does not receive supervision from the Ministry of Justice. The special prosecutor operates independently from the executive branch according to the Special Prosecutors Act." This emphasizes that the special prosecutor led the execution of the second warrant against former President Yoon.
Minister Jeong continued, "The entity responsible for executing the arrest warrant is the prosecutor who obtained the warrant, and in this case, it is the special prosecutor," stating, "According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the detention center must follow the execution directives of the special prosecutor and does not have independent execution authority." He further mentioned, "I issued instructions for the Seoul Detention Center to actively cooperate with the special prosecutor, even deploying the CRPT, commonly known as the 'crow' mobile patrol team," adding, "Detention center guards faithfully complied with the special prosecutor's commands, attempting to physically restrain the suspect and forcibly transport them outside by lifting the chair they were sitting on."
Regarding the suspension of the warrant execution, Minister Jeong said, "Since former President Yoon continued to resist vigorously against the attempted use of physical force, the special prosecutor, responsible not only for the investigation but also for maintaining the prosecution in the future, directed the on-site supervising prosecutor to suspend the warrant execution based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation, and the Seoul detention center complied with this order."
He added, "If the detention center had continued with the warrant execution despite the special prosecutor's decision to suspend, that itself would have been illegal, and even if the suspect had been arrested and a statement obtained, all evidence would have lost its admissibility in court as illegally obtained evidence," stating, "I believe the special prosecutor made the best judgment by comparing the repercussions and benefits of using additional physical force to arrest a suspect who is a former president and the benefits of halting the execution."
Minister Jeong also stated regarding former President Yoon's refusal to comply with the special prosecutor's warrant execution, "The suspect's blatant attitude in rejecting a legitimate warrant execution only increases the likelihood of guilt and illegality." He further noted, "We are meticulously examining whether the suspect has misused their status as a former president to enjoy privileges, and we are also reviewing appropriate measures against behaviors that undermine the rule of law by rejecting legitimate law enforcement."
Earlier, Special Prosecutor Kim Keon-hee attempted to execute the second arrest of former President Yoon on the 7th but failed due to the former president's strong refusal.
However, after the warrant execution ended, former President Yoon's legal team held a press conference that afternoon, claiming there were acts of cruelty by the special prosecutor during the warrant execution process. They alleged that about 10 officials from the detention center attempted to grab former President Yoon's arms and legs and lift his body, and that he fell to the floor while refusing.
However, the Ministry of Justice later confirmed that former President Yoon had no health issues. Minister Jeong had also instructed the Seoul Detention Center to cooperate with the execution of the arrest warrant the day before the second execution (on the 6th).