Seoul: A special counsel team took action on Tuesday, raiding the homes and offices of Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) amid allegations connected to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law attempt in December. This raid occurred as Choo served as the party's floor leader during the incident.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Special Counsel Cho Eun-suk's team executed a search and seizure operation at Choo's residences and offices in both Seoul and Daegu, his constituency, over suspicions that he hindered his party's lawmakers from attending a parliamentary vote aimed at lifting the martial law decree. Investigators are examining claims that Choo altered the venue for an emergency general meeting of PPP lawmakers several times on the night of Yoon's declaration on December 3, allegedly at the former president's behest.
These venue changes reportedly resulted in many PPP lawmakers being unable to participate in the vote, leading to the National Assembly passing a motion to repeal Yoon's decree with only 18 of the PPP's 108 lawmakers present. The special counsel's team has obtained records showing that Choo contacted Yoon by phone shortly after the declaration, as well as communication between Choo and senior presidential aide Hong Chul-ho, and then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, before his call with Yoon.
Assistant Special Counsel Park Ji-young stated in a briefing that questioning about the discussions between Han and Choo has already been conducted, and further inquiries are necessary to confirm the facts. In response to the developments, Choo declared his innocence in a Facebook post, expressing confidence in his integrity and accusing the ruling Democratic Party of attempting to portray the PPP as an insurrectionist group through false accusations.
Choo refuted claims of advising PPP lawmakers to boycott the vote, asserting that he relocated the general meeting from party headquarters to the National Assembly, rather than obstructing the vote. Following the parliamentary vote, Choo stated he urged the government to swiftly repeal the decree.
The raids on Tuesday also targeted the offices of the PPP's floor leader and Rep. Cho Ji-yeon, who was present with Choo at the floor leader's office during the vote to lift the decree. Choo maintains that he was unaware of Yoon's martial law plans beforehand and did not discuss hindering lawmakers' participation with the former president.
Regarding the venue changes for the emergency meeting, Choo's team attributes them to misunderstandings with the party leader's office and entry restrictions to the National Assembly, where martial law forces had been stationed. The special counsel's team plans to summon Choo soon for further questioning on these allegations.