Recently, South Korean police chief George Ji-ho made a public statement claiming that the military immediately requested to track down a list of 15 people, including the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, after the curfew was imposed on December 3. This news has attracted widespread attention.
According to Zhao Zhicao's lawyer, at his law office in Seoul's Yeokcheon district, he gave a detailed account of the situation to reporters. He said that after the curfew was declared, anti-espionage commander Yang Hengheng instructed him to monitor the real-time location information of 15 people, including politicians. Zhao Zhicao's lawyer said, "Yang Commander called me and gave me a list, but there was one person on the list that I didn't know." He further explained that the person he didn't know was a judge who had declared Representative Lee Jae-myung not guilty in a "alleged perjury" case.
In addition, the list includes former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-soo of the Supreme Court, former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Sun-il, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-keun, Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly Jang Chang-rae and Rep. Han Dong-hun of the People's Power Party, among others. The lawyer for Cho Si-ho said, "The reason I remember 15 people is because the commander said 'a total of 15'." However, Cho Si-ho found the request extremely ridiculous, so he refused and rejected the order.
It is reported that the judge on the list is Judge Kim Dong-hyun of the Central District Court in Seoul. He presided over the trial at the first instance court on the 25th of last month and declared Lee Jae-myung not guilty. The court found that this could not be considered as instructing him to testify, but rather as going against his memory.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was also embroiled in the scandal. According to Jo Cheol-ho's lawyer, President Yoon made six calls to Jo during the state of emergency, urging him to arrest a lawmaker. Jo's lawyer said, "When the order came out and the National Assembly was brought under control, the president personally made six calls, asking me to arrest that lawmaker." However, Jo believed that the request was ridiculous and ignored it.
According to lawyers, on the morning of the 4th, the day after the curfew was declared, President Yoon received another call from Cho Si-hoo. Out of human compassion, Cho Si-hoo first said, "I'm sorry, Mr. President." President Yoon responded, "No, thank you for your hard work, and things will soon be over." However, this call sparked widespread speculation and criticism from the outside world.
In response to this incident, the National Police Agency's Special Investigation Team has launched an investigation. This morning, they announced that they have obtained Mr. Cho's secure phone and initiated forensic procedures to obtain more information. When asked whether they had confirmed that President Yoon and Mr. Cho had made six calls during the state of emergency, the investigation team stated that they had confirmed that Mr. Cho had used a non-Huawei phone, and that the server storing the usage history records had not been sealed or searched.
In addition, Zhao Zhishao's lawyer revealed a shocking piece of information. He stated that before declaring martial law, President Yoon had summoned Zhao Zhishao to a safe house and handed him a written document. The document detailed the institutions that the martial law forces would take over, including the National Assembly, the media, and MBC. Zhao Zhishao said, "At 7:20 p.m. on the 3rd, I met with President Yoon for five minutes and gave him an A4 sheet of paper with 'North Korean military' written on it." However, Zhao Zhishao believed that the document was nonsense, so he tore it up.
For Zhao Zhicao's actions, the police explained that Zhao tore up an A4 sheet of paper, while the head of the Seoul police, Kim Bong-sik, said he did not have that paper and therefore could not protect it. Zhao's lawyer emphasized that Zhao was arrested on an emergency basis and confessed to the facts. He believes that the crime of rebellion is a very serious offense that should be punished severely. However, the punishment should be judged based on whether Zhao contributed to the activities of the curfew troops.
Currently, Cho Si-ho is under investigation for allegedly instructing frontline police officers to prevent National Assembly members from entering during the curfew on March 3. The police have applied for an arrest warrant for Cho and Seoul National Police Chief Kim Bong-sik on charges of "employees of a subversive task." They will face an arrest warrant review at 3 p.m. today at the Seoul Central District Court.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly also initiated an impeachment process against Choi Seong-ho. Yesterday, the National Assembly approved the impeachment indictment against Choi Seong-ho. This scandal not only caused turmoil in the Korean political arena, but also sparked public concern and skepticism about political power.
The fermentation of the event has far from ended, and the subsequent developments should be even more dramatic...