Seoul, March 6 A warrant review panel sided with police on Thursday, concluding it was appropriate for them to request arrest warrants for two senior officials of the Presidential Security Service (PSS) accused of obstructing investigators' attempt to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The warrant review committee of the Seoul High Prosecutors Office reached the decision in a closed-door meeting, recommending that prosecutors seek court approval for the warrants on behalf of the police.
Six of the panel's nine outside experts voted in favor of the recommendation, according to the committee.
Last month, the special police investigation team handling Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition on December 3 asked the committee to review its case after the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office rejected for the third time its request to seek arrest warrants for acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hoon and Lee Kwang-woo, chief of the PSS's bodyguard division.
The review committee, which operates under six high prosecutors' offices nationwide, assesses whether prosecutors' decisions to reject arrest warrant requests were justified. However, the committee's decisions are not legally binding.
Kim and Lee are accused of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant for Yoon in January, taking unjust personnel actions, and instructing subordinates to delete records of phone conversations between Yoon and military commanders involved in the martial law declaration.
The calls were allegedly made during the martial law situation using secret phones distributed by the PSS, which were equipped with programs designed to prevent wiretapping and recording, Yonhap news agency reported.
Police have argued that their charges were sufficiently substantiated and that there is a risk they could destroy evidence, justifying their arrests.
Prosecutors, however, denied the requests, contending that the charges were disputable and that they are unlikely to repeat obstructing Yoon's arrest because the suspended president is already in custody.
Following Thursday's decision, prosecutors are expected to consider seeking arrest warrants for the two PSS officials if police submit a fourth request.
"We respect the review committee's decision and will proceed with follow-up measures," said an official with the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office, requesting anonymity.
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