By Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) – The man who blocked investigators from arresting ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has himself been thrust into the spotlight in the political crisis sparked by South Korea’s brief declaration of martial law. Yoon last month.
Park Chong-jun, who reports directly to Yoon, was instrumental in Friday’s rejection of investigators’ attempt to issue an arrest warrant for Yoon, leading to a six-hour standoff at Yoon’s official residence. Yoon.
Presidential guards and military troops blocked authorities from arresting Yoon for alleged insurrection under the arrest warrant, valid until Monday. The anti-corruption body leading the investigation with police said on Friday it was studying next steps.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law on December 3 stunned South Korea and led to his impeachment and suspension from office on December 14. The political fate of the president is in the hands of the Constitutional Court.
His legal fate is fought by a series of law enforcement agencies against Yoon’s forces – with Park in a central position.
Appointed by Yoon in September, Park had already played a role in blocking investigators from executing search warrants against the president’s offices and residences, citing national security.
“The Presidential Security Service exists only for the absolute security of the security target,” Park said in a message posted on the service’s website, adding that its mission to protect the president “at all times” must leave no room for doubt. flaw.
He used this reasoning to reject Friday’s efforts to arrest Yoon on the grounds that investigators had overstepped the bounds of security laws and injured some security personnel.
‘UNCONTROLLABLE’
Critics fear it is Park’s service that is excessive.
“The presidential security service is a dangerous institution whose power can spiral out of control,” said Han Seung-whoon, a professor of police administrative law at Dongshin University.
“As only the president has the power to control it, the security services can abuse their power and become the president’s private army.”
The anti-corruption body, the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), said it had to call off Friday’s attempted arrest due to fears over the safety of its staff.
Yoon’s security detail and troops under his control outnumbered the officials who made the arrests, the IOC said. At one point, Yoon’s men banded together in a human chain of around 200 people to block access to Yoon and his official residence, while buses and military vehicles were also used as a blockade.
On Friday, police announced they would investigate Park for potential obstruction of justice, asking him to appear for questioning. He refused for the time being, saying he could not take time off work even for a moment at this critical time.
Park and his deputy were in talks to provide a response to investigators at a later date, the security services said.
The police on Saturday requested his appearance on Tuesday.
Yoon’s lawyers say the IOC lacks the authority to investigate the insurrection, making the arrest warrant illegal.
A court on Tuesday approved the arrest warrant, the first against a sitting president, after Yoon ignored repeated summons for questioning.
CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY
Critics of the presidential security service call it a relic from the days of South Korea’s strong leaders, who ruled until the late 1980s.
It was placed under the direct control of the president during the era of military rule in the 1970s and 1980s, and run by loyal aides who wielded immense power.
After the 2016 impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, lawmakers, calling the service “a creation of authoritarian military rule,” proposed changes to transfer it to a police agency.
They have also sought to downgrade its leader’s rank, but reform efforts appear to have stalled.
Park’s predecessor in the presidential security service was Kim Yong-hyun, a close ally of Yoon, who left office in September when he was named defense minister.
Kim has since resigned from the latter post and has been indicted on insurrection charges, accused of playing a key role in recommending and planning the martial law attempt.
The declaration, which Yoon rescinded six hours later when the opposition-controlled parliament defied him, banned all political activity and sought to control the media.
Park, a former senior police official who failed in two parliamentary bids in 2012 and 2016, graduated at the top of his class from the Korea National Police University before becoming deputy chief of the national police in 2011.
In 2012, he helped conservative Park Geun-hye win the presidential election, then became deputy head of her presidential security until 2015.
At the time of Park Chong-jun’s appointment as head of the presidential security service, Yoon’s chief of staff said he would help build “an advanced security system.”
The opposition demanded his arrest for blocking Yoon’s arrest and called for an investigation into his alleged role in declaring martial law.
Previously questioned as a witness in the investigation into this statement, he denied the allegations, according to media reports.
