Live from presidential residence: operations being planned for arrest warrant execution

We move now onto the latest regarding the attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol.

For details, Arirang's Moon Hye-ryeon joins us live from the president's residential neighborhood.

Hye-ryeon, I believe there was a three-way meeting earlier this morning among anti-corruption officials, the police, and the presidential security team.

What has been shared about that?

That's right, so the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the police, and the presidential security team held a meeting this morning to discuss the execution of the warrant to detain President Yoon.

The CIO has said that the discussion will not influence their plans and that they simply "listened to opinions" raised.

According to a CIO official, the discussions were centered on ensuring a peaceful execution of the warrant, but no conclusions were reached.

The CIO noted that it is waiting for a more solid response from the presidential security service, without setting a specific deadline and further added that there are no additional meetings planned as of now.

This comes following the public appeal from the President's Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk this morning, which said the Presidential Office is willing to cooperate with the police and the CIO.

This included options for investigation at a neutral location or through a visit.

However, the CIO commented that they have yet to receive a formal request regarding alternative arrangements.

In this morning's statement, Chung further emphasized that Yoon must be allowed to fully exercise his right to defend himself and present his position, as should be guaranteed for all South Korean citizens.

What has been shared about the timing of the second arrest attempt?

It's been more than a week since the new warrant to detain Yoon was issued, and actually, this just in — it has been reported that the CIO and the police have been granted permission to enter the presidential residence by the Capital Defense Command's 55th Guard Corps.

But it has been reported that the police held another meeting today to discuss matters related to the execution of the warrant.

The meeting took place this morning at 10 AM, lasting for around two hours, between the special investigation team of the National Office of Investigation and commanders from the criminal task forces of the Seoul, Gyeonggi-do Province, and Incheon police agencies.

The execution of the warrant could begin as early as 5 AM tomorrow, and authorities aim to complete the execution within this week.

Discussions focused on concrete plans on how to enter the heavily fortified presidential residence in Hannam-dong behind me, which is secured with barricades and barbed wire.

Specific strategies were reportedly discussed, including measures to suppress resistance from the presidential security team, searching the residence, and detaining President Yoon.

Approximately one thousand personnel from the security investigation teams and regional investigation units of the four metropolitan police departments will be deployed for the execution of the warrant.

This includes 301 investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's regional investigation unit.

These personnel have completed the necessary procedures to be dispatched to their temporary assignment to the CIO set for January 15th to the 17th so tomorrow until Friday.

This suggests preparations for a potential two to three-day operation as formerly reported, should the presidential security service resist the execution of the warrant.

Meanwhile, what is the atmosphere around the president's residential area like as we speak?

Well, Jung-min, it looks as though there's quite a crowd gathering by the presidential residence behind me despite the less-than-favorable conditions out here.

Tensions are mounting alongside expectations of a second attempt at executing the detainment warrant happening within the next twenty-four hours.

The proximity of the rally locations for both sides has raised concerns about potential clashes, and to prepare for any possible incidents, the police have positioned riot squad vehicles between the groups to separate them.

Security around the presidential residence remains tight, with the presence of armed guards becoming more prominent photos were taken yesterday showing heavily armed security personnel patrolling the area wearing helmets, masks, and tactical gear.

It appears that the presidential security team is further reinforcing security measures inside the residence, with barbed wires and chains placed in various areas within the grounds.

That's all I have, back to you, Jung-min.

All right Hye-ryeon, thank you for that coverage.

That was our Moon Hye-ryeon reporting live from the president's official residential neighborhood.