Choo Kyung-ho Appears for First Suspect Investigation
Choo Kyung-ho, a former floor leader of the People Power Party, appeared before the insurrection special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok on the 30th. He is facing charges related to his involvement in critical tasks associated with the insurrection and the abuse of authority.
Choo arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office around 9:53 a.m. and made a public statement, saying, “I will not yield to lawless political suppression and will confront it boldly.” He added, “On the day of the martial law declaration, after speaking with the prime minister and the president, I changed the location of the parliamentary meeting from the party headquarters to the National Assembly and moved there with the lawmakers. If I had conspired with the president to obstruct the vote, why would I have changed the location to the National Assembly and moved there instead of staying at the party headquarters? I will face the special counsel boldly today.”
Despite his statements, Choo did not answer reporters’ questions regarding the reasons for changing the location of the parliamentary meeting despite witnessing the National Assembly blockade. He also declined to comment on discussions with former President Yoon Suk-yeol immediately after the martial law declaration or the reason he stayed in the floor leader’s office rather than participating in the vote at that time.
According to the investigation, the special counsel suspects that Choo, upon receiving a request from former President Yoon’s side on the day of last year’s December 3 emergency martial law declaration, repeatedly changed the location of the People Power Party’s parliamentary meeting. This, they claim, obstructed lawmakers’ participation in the vote to lift the martial law. The investigation revealed that due to these changes, most People Power Party lawmakers failed to enter the main session hall of the National Assembly, resulting in only 18 out of 108 party lawmakers participating in the vote on the resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.
Choo maintains that he and all People Power Party lawmakers were unaware of the martial law in advance. Regarding the repeated changes to the parliamentary meeting location, he stated that it was unavoidable due to the National Assembly’s access control.
Earlier, the special counsel team raided Choo’s home in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, his National Assembly office in Yeouido, and his district office in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on the 2nd of last month. They also imposed a travel ban on Choo and conducted witness investigations involving party officials and some lawmakers.
After notifying Choo’s side of the summons for investigation, the special counsel team coordinated the date, and it was reported that Choo decided to comply with the investigation on this day, considering his schedule for the National Assembly audit. The investigation is expected to conclude late in the evening.
Political Protests Against the Special Counsel
Meanwhile, on the same day, the People Power Party held an emergency parliamentary meeting near the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the insurrection special counsel’s office is located, to protest the investigation.
Jang Dong-hyeok, the People Power Party leader, said, “The special counsel is recklessly wielding a blade without a handle, unaware that he is killing himself, and continues his lawless investigation. What the people desire is a special counsel for the special counsel. The party that should be dissolved is the Democratic Party of Korea.”
Lawmaker Joo Jin-woo stated, “We held a Cabinet meeting to block the emergency martial law that the entire nation witnessed, but it is being twisted in reverse. I believe Cho Eun-seok should take responsibility for his reckless and biased investigation and step down.”
Over 50 People Power Party lawmakers attending the parliamentary meeting chanted slogans such as, “Dismantle the illegal special counsel, the group destroying judicial justice,” and “Investigate Cho Eun-seok, who destroys justice and engages in political retaliation.”
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