Prosecutors Investigate Police Involvement in Martial Law Incident

On December 19, prosecutors investigating the 'December 3 Martial Law Incident' conducted a search of the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (국가수사본부). This follows allegations that the military's Counterintelligence Command requested support from the police to deploy arrest teams during the declaration of martial law.

According to reports, the special investigation team, led by Chief Prosecutor Park Se-hyun of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, summoned two senior officials from the National Investigation Headquarters for questioning. The officials, Yoon Seung-young (윤승영), the Chief of Investigation Planning, and Jeon Chang-hoon (전창훈), the Chief of Investigation Planning Division, were called in as witnesses around 7 PM.

Prosecutors have gathered evidence suggesting that after the martial law was declared, the National Investigation Headquarters received a request from the Counterintelligence Command to position ten detectives from the Yeongdeungpo Police Station near the National Assembly. These detectives are suspected of being intended for a 'target arrest' operation.

During the questioning, prosecutors are expected to inquire about the communications between the National Investigation Headquarters and the Counterintelligence Command during the martial law period, as well as how the request was reported internally within the National Investigation Headquarters.

Earlier that day, prosecutors also executed search warrants at the National Investigation Headquarters, Yeongdeungpo Police Station, and the Ministry of National Defense's Investigation Headquarters, seizing mobile phones from key officials, including the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, Woo Jong-soo (우종수). Allegations have also surfaced that the Ministry of National Defense sent ten investigators to the National Assembly at the request of the martial law command on the day martial law was declared.