With suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol having been abruptly released from jail on March 8, the Presidential Security Service appears to be taking action against its own officials involved in facilitating his arrest.
According to local media reports, the PSS’ disciplinary committee, which convened last week, has decided to dismiss a senior official who met investigators after the law enforcement’s first attempt to arrest Yoon was thwarted by PSS staff and military personnel who formed human barricade to block their entry. A dismissal is one of the most severe sanctions under the service’s regulations, second only to expulsion.
Korean-language dailies Hankyoreh and Hankook Ilbo reported the dismissed official on Jan. 12 opposed Yoon’s order to review the use of force as well as PSS Deputy Chief Kim Sung-hoon’s directive to arm personnel with "heavy firearms" if another attempt was made to carry out a court-issued warrant to detain the suspended president.
Heavy firearms normally include: heavy machine guns, mortars, antitank weapons, grenade launchers and portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.
The senior PSS official was removed from duty on Jan. 12. The PSS at that time issued a statement saying the measure was due to the leak of confidential information, not the official's remarks opposing the orders. It said, “We verified that (the official) met with two officials from the National Office of Investigation at a hotel to share inside information about the locations of key military facilities.”
The second attempt of the joint probe team to take Yoon into custody on Jan 15, however, was successful, as this time, the PSS staff did not actively resist the investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the police, who were able to enter the presidential compound and arrest Yoon.
During a National Assembly hearing on Jan. 22, the official in question was asked by lawmakers whether they were removed from performing their duties by PSS’ Deputy Chief Kim and responded, “Yes.”
Addressing the meeting with the two officials from the National Office of Investigation, the official said at the hearing, “I went out at the request of an acquaintance who was worried about the nation. We discussed our opinions for 30 minutes about the atmosphere within the police and the security service after the first attempt.”
Kim, the acting PSS chief, is under investigation for obstructing the execution of the warrant.
Regarding Monday’s media reports regarding the person subjected to dismissal, the PSS said, “The related procedure is underway and nothing has been confirmed yet,” and that detailed information cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
