South Korea: Police launch fresh attempt to search Presidential Security Service in martial law probe
Seoul, Jan 20 (IANS) South Korea’s police launched another attempt on Monday to search the Presidential Security Service and a presidential safe house as part of their investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid.
Investigators arrived at the presidential office in the central Seoul district of Yongsan, where the PSS is located, and the safe house in the Samcheong-dong neighbourhood to try to secure surveillance camera footage.
The safe house is where Yoon met with the national and Seoul police chiefs to discuss his martial law plans three hours before he announced the decree on December 3.
By securing surveillance camera footage from the safe house, the server for which is kept at the PSS office, police plan to identify the people who entered the premises before and after Yoon’s declaration of martial law and what instructions they received.
The raid comes a day after Yoon was placed under formal arrest on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power and as senior PSS officials have either resigned or are under investigation in connection with the case.
Previous attempts to search the locations largely failed due to resistance from the PSS, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Yoon Suk Yeol was moved to a solitary cell in the Seoul Detention Center’s general wing after being formally arrested over the weekend, a correctional official said.
Yoon was transferred to a 12-square-meter cell at the detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, on Sunday after the Seoul Western District Court issued a warrant for his formal arrest, according to Shin Yong-hae, commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service.
“(Yoon) was moved from a holding room for suspects to the general detention wing, and (I) received a report that he spent the night well,” Shin told lawmakers during a session of the National Assembly’s legislation and judiciary committee.
According to Shin, Yoon’s cell, which usually holds five or six people, is similar in size to those where past presidents have been detained.
The official told lawmakers that Yoon cooperated with official procedures for his detention, such as taking a mug shot and undergoing a physical exam. He also noted that a personal correctional officer has been designated for Yoon’s safety.
Shin said his office is working with the police and the Presidential Security Service to ensure security amid concerns that Yoon’s supporters might take drastic actions, such as attempting to free the detained president.
–IANS
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