Acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Yoo Jae-seong said regarding the arrest warrant for former Chairperson Lee Jin-sook of the Korea Communications Commission, "I understand that (the police) reported directly to the presidential office in writing." He later added, "We notified the presidential office via an internal police network email (not as a report)."
Yoo made the remarks at a National Assembly audit on the morning of the 30th in Yeouido, Seoul, when People Power Party lawmaker Joo Ho-young asked, "You said you reported the fact of requesting an arrest warrant for the former Chairperson Lee to the presidential office; did you report it through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety?"
However, Yoo said, "I understand that it was not reported to the Minister of the Interior and Safety." Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung also said he did not receive a related report. The Korean National Police Agency is an external agency of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS).
Afterward, Yoo corrected himself, saying, "I checked precisely with the responsible Director, and we notified via an internal police network email," adding, "We notified because it was a major public safety situation." He also said there was no instance of reporting or calling by phone.
The People Power Party argued that the police directly reporting an individual investigation matter to the presidential office infringed on the independence of investigations. Lawmaker Joo said, "This is not the independence of investigative power; it is (the police's) investigative power being separated from the prosecution and offered up to the presidential office."
In response, the Minister Yoon said, "(Reporting on) the progress of individual investigations is not even within the police chief's duties," adding, "If the National Office of Investigation (NOI) deems it necessary, I think it could report."
By contrast, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Han Byung-do said, "The Korean National Police Agency is required to report to the presidential office when a major case occurs," adding, "This is a duty specified in the regulations on the operation of the presidential secretariat."
Earlier, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul arrested the former Chairperson Lee at her home in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd of this month on charges including violations of the Public Official Election Act and the State Public Officials Act. The former Chairperson applied for a review of the legality of detention, and the court granted it, leading to her release after about 50 hours.