With the 2024 attack on President Lee Jae-myung designated as a "terror" incident, police formed a task force (TF) in Busan to investigate the case.
The Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI) said on the 25th that it will begin full operations of the TF, composed of 45 members in total and two investigative teams, from the 26th. The move came six days after it released the plan to form the TF.
The TF Director General will be Jeong Gyeong-ho, head of investigations at the Gwangju Police Agency (senior superintendent general). The office will be set up at the Busan Police Agency. To ensure fairness and neutrality, the National Office of Investigation (NOI), not the Busan Police Agency, will direct the case. Some view this as an attempt to dispel suspicions in some quarters that the Busan agency's past investigation downplayed or covered up the case. It is seen as a strategy to bolster the credibility of the findings.
The TF is reportedly focusing on recruiting investigators with law licenses. With few precedents for investigating terror charges and the process of not designating it as terror also subject to inquiry, the aim is interpreted as enhancing the investigation's completeness through in-depth legal review.
On Jan. 2, 2024, when he was leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, the president was attacked on Busan's Gadeokdo while visiting, when a person surnamed Kim, 67, stabbed the left side of his neck with a weapon. The Busan agency that investigated at the time concluded that Kim acted alone with no conspiracy or backing and closed the case.
Centered around the ruling camp, allegations were also raised that during Yoon Suk-yeol's administration the National Intelligence Service and the Counterterrorism Center did not designate the incident as terror and destroyed evidence at the scene, downplaying and distorting it.
On the 20th, the government designated the Gadeokdo attack that the president suffered in 2024 as "terror." The Ministry of Government Legislation determined the case met the constituent elements under the Counterterrorism Act.
Director General Jeong said, "We will investigate swiftly and fairly the various allegations raised so far and the areas where the investigation fell short."