[Lawyers for a Democratic Society] 'Cancellation of Detention' Decision Rebuttal... "To prevent the distortion of the law, it is necessary to explain which part of the Criminal Procedure Act is unclear"
> Odongun, head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office, answers questions about President Yoon Suk-yeol's internal rebellion investigation at a meeting of the Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 12th. ⓒ Nam Soyeon
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that the detention period should be calculated in 'hours' rather than 'days,' and canceled the detention of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is accused of rebellion. However, there are arguments that even if calculated in 'hours,' the indictment was within the legal scope.
Odongun, head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office, said at a meeting of the Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly on the 12th, "We respect the decision of Criminal Procedure Act Article 25. However, we believe that freedom of commentary on confirmed decisions is permissible, and we will express our opinion."
Head Odongun said, "Even if the court's judgment is based on time rather than days, the records related to President Yoon's request for arrest warrant were kept at the court for 10 hours and 32 minutes. Therefore, the detention period was extended until 7:39 pm on January 26, 2025, not 9:07 am on the same day." He explained, "The indictment in this case took place before that, at 6:52 pm on the same day."
He added, "The prosecutor who handled the indictment calculated it conservatively and completed the indictment 47 minutes before the indictment deadline." Therefore, even if the court's time standard is applied, it was a very legitimate indictment. "
Head Odongun emphasized, "According to Article 214-2, Paragraph 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, regardless of whether it is an arrest warrant or a detention warrant, the period during which records are kept at the court shall not be included in the detention period."
He continued, "The court stated that it was unclear whether Article 214-2, Paragraph 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act applies to arrest warrants and did not consider '10 hours and 32 minutes' at all. It judged that the indictment was made after exceeding the detention period. However, for this judgment to be evaluated as a legal interpretation rather than a distortion of the law, it is necessary to explain which part of the current Article 214-2, Paragraph 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act is unclear."
Head Odongun also refuted the People Power Party's claim that the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office arrested and investigated President Yoon Suk-yeol despite not having jurisdiction over internal rebellion charges. "There was no violation of the lawful procedure for work execution," he said.
He added, "(President Yoon)'s lawyer's argument is included in this detention cancellation decision, but there are no explicit regulations (regarding investigative authority), so we have never judged that there is a problem with investigative authority." He also said, "(Regarding the investigative authority of internal rebellion) Five judges from the Seoul Central District Court and the Western District Court issued arrest warrants and detention warrants, confirming that there was no problem."
