Prosecution preparing for full-scale investigation of Pres. Yoon

Investigation into President Yoon's martial law order is still ongoing, except the case will now be under the prosecutors, not the investigators.

We have our Choi Min-jung out at the prosecution's office in central Seoul.

Min-jung, the prosecutors will now handle the investigation.

Are you spotting anything at the site?

Dami, it's a little past 10 AM here at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office

And unlike what we've been seeing at the Seoul Detention Center or the CIO, it's still rather quiet,.. with not many 사람 around at the moment.

Now regarding the investigation, the prosecution does not have much time with a detention deadline approaching which could be as early as the 26th of January.

So the investigation team may request to extend President Yoon's detention as early as today.

And if approved, that would mean he could be held until the 4th, 5th, or 6th of February, giving more time for the prosecutors to investigate.

Under such a plan, the prosecution is expected to make every effort to interrogate President Yoon as much as possible.

They have also set a plan to continue the investigation throughout the weekend, possibly at the Seoul Detention Center where Yoon is currently being held, and even during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

And the point of this whole case transfer is so that President Yoon complies with the investigation.

How is Yoon's side taking this handover?

Right, the question is whether Yoon will respond to the prosecution's investigation.

President Yoon's legal team said nothing has been decided yet, but did urge the prosecution to comply with proper legal procedures, unlike what they call the "illegal" actions of the CIO.

Just to give you a brief background, the prosecution's special investigation team took back the case yesterday, after the anti-corruption agency formally requested that the prosecution take over the investigation.

The case was handed over earlier than planned due to President Yoon's refusal to cooperate with the CIO.

The CIO had faced backlash as the investigation continued to hit a stalemate.

Other than on the day of his arrest, when he remained silent in front of investigators, Yoon refused to appear for further questioning, citing health and security concerns.

The CIO also faced repeated interference from the Presidential Security Service in its attempts to seize evidence.

One of the men arrested for the attack against Seoul Western District Court last weekend turned out to be a missionary.

And he's been arrested as of Thursday?

That's right, Dami.

A man in his 40s, identified as Mr. Lee, was arrested after being accused of storming into the court last Sunday, shortly after an arrest warrant was issued for President Yoon.

As of today, a total of 59 people, including Lee,. have been arrested in connection with the riot.

Earlier, the court issued arrest warrants for 58 individuals—44 for storming the court and causing property damage, and 10 for blocking a vehicle carrying prosecutors and investigators from the CIO.

That's all I have for now.

But I'll be back with more on our later newscast.

Back to you, Dami.

Thank you Min-jung, for your report.