Live from Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office: Pres. Yoon's case transferred from CIO to prosecution

Staying with the president's political fate.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is transferring its investigation of the president to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

For more I have Kim Jung-sil standing by live at the prosecutors' office here in the capital city.

Jung-sil welcome.

Let's begin with this latest development.

Thanks, Sunny. The atmosphere here at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office is relatively quiet this afternoon, with the investigation into President Yoon officially transferred here as of today.

This morning, the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) formally requested the prosecution to take over the investigation against President Yoon. This comes more than 50 days after the December 3rd martial law declaration.

Take a listen to a comment from a CIO official earlier today:

"The CIO has today decided to request the prosecution of the suspect in accordance with Article 26, Section 1 of the CIO Act, and has referred the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office."

The CIO deputy chief added that President Yoon's refusal to cooperate has stalled the investigation.

During the first 10-hour questioning session, he remained silent and later declined further questioning, citing health and security concerns.

The CIO also faced repeated interference from the Presidential Security Service in attempts to seize key evidence, including the president's secret phone.

Deputy Chief Lee explained that while the CIO has investigative authority, it lacks the power to press charges on the president, so the case was handed over earlier than planned, initially set for January 28th.

The Prosecutor's Office behind me has now taken over and will continue the investigation.

And what are the prospects regarding the president's cooperation with the investigation now that it has been handed over to prosecutors?

It remains uncertain, Sunny. There is a possibility that the president may also argue that the prosecution does not have the authority to investigate charges of insurrection, which under South Korean law is handled by the police.

However, as no sitting president has ever been investigated by the police, the prosecution, which traditionally handles cases involving former presidents, has the authority to investigate related crimes such as 'abuse of power.'

Take a listen to an expert on this.

"Technically it's true that the power to investigate crimes of insurrection has been given to the police and the prosecution office but the prosecution office retains the power to investigate any crimes that are related to crimes that they are investigating. The President is charged not only with the crime of insurrection but also with abuse of office and several other crimes that are still within the power of the prosecution office to investigate."

With both arrest and detention warrants issued by the court, legal experts argue that there is substantial evidence supporting his involvement.

That's all I have for this hour, back to you Sunny.

All right Jung-sil thank you for that coverage.

That was our Kim Jung-sil reporting live from the prosecutors' office here in Seoul.