Former President Yoon Suk-yeol Denies Allegations of Server Deletion Orders

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol has reportedly denied allegations regarding his directive to delete the server of a secure phone, stating, "I never instructed anyone to delete the server, and it was not actually deleted." This statement was confirmed on July 7 following his second round of questioning by the special investigation team at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office on July 5. The investigation team has included this claim in a warrant for his arrest, citing abuse of power under the Presidential Security Service Act.

During the investigation conducted on June 28 and July 5, Yoon asserted that he did not instruct Kim Sung-hoon, the then-deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service, to delete the secure phone server. The special investigation team suspects that Yoon made a call to Kim on December 7, four days after a state of emergency was declared, directing him to delete the server.

However, Yoon's legal team argues that three commanders lost their authority to use the secure phone after being suspended from duty following the emergency declaration. They emphasized that while it is standard procedure to retrieve such devices, the actual retrieval was not feasible at that time. They also noted that a security incident occurred when Hong Jang-won, a former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, publicly shared a photo of the secure phone's screen, prompting Yoon to only suggest that security measures be taken, denying any directive to delete.

The special investigation team has charged Yoon with abuse of power, but it has been reported that the secure phone server was not deleted through remote logout methods, and police have secured the original server data through a search warrant. Yoon's position is that even if he had given a deletion order, the server remained intact, thus constituting an incomplete attempt. His legal team also highlighted that individuals cannot be punished for attempted abuse of power.

Additionally, Yoon expressed during the investigation that the actions related to the secure phone server deletion do not constitute an act of obstructing the exercise of authority, as the deputy chief and staff had an obligation to take appropriate measures in the event of a security incident. He argued that abuse of power charges arise when a superior misuses their authority to compel a subordinate to act outside their duties, which he claims does not apply in this case.

Regarding another key allegation of obstructing an arrest, Yoon stated he never issued any orders to prevent arrests. He expressed that during his time as a prosecutor, he was very cautious about conducting forced investigations, such as searches of military facilities, and did not anticipate that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) and the police special investigation team would enforce an arrest warrant. Yoon remarked that he viewed the announcement of the warrant by the CIO as a "exit strategy" and did not foresee its execution, thus finding the allegations of obstruction contradictory.

Yoon also questioned the validity of foreign exchange allegations not included in the arrest warrant, asserting that he never ordered the deployment of drones to North Korea in October of last year, nor did he receive any reports regarding such actions. When asked if he met with Kim Yong-dae, the commander of the drone operation, he firmly denied it.

The substantive examination of Yoon's arrest warrant is scheduled for July 9 at 2:15 PM at the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Nam Se-jin. His legal team will include attorneys Kim Hong-il, Bae Bo-yun, Song Jin-ho, Chae Myung-seong, Kim Gye-ri, and Yoo Jeong-hwa.