Former Defense Minister under emergency arrest, suspicions of evidence destruction

[Anchor]

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a key figure in the declaration of martial law, had been under emergency arrest, then summoned again by the Special Investigation Headquarters of the prosecution.

It has also been confirmed that he changed his mobile phone device ahead of the investigation.

We connect to our reporter for more details.

Reporter Kim Beom-joo! There are predictions that an arrest warrant for the former minister will soon be requested. What is the current status of the investigation?

[Report]

Yes, the Special Investigation Headquarters has been questioning former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun since around 5 PM.

This is nine hours after he voluntarily appeared at the Special Investigation Headquarters early this morning (Dec. 8), where he was taken into custody under emergency arrest provisions for abuse of power and insurrection.

It is reported that the Special Investigation Headquarters is pressing Kim on the background of his proposal to declare an emergency martial law and the circumstances under which armed martial troops were deployed to the National Assembly and the Election Commission.

In response, the former minister claimed that after he proposed the emergency martial law, he commanded the entry of martial troops into the National Assembly according to the proclamation, and that the troops entered the Election Commission only to clarify allegations of "election fraud," asserting that nothing in the process was illegal or unconstitutional.

The Special Investigation Headquarters seized the former minister's mobile phone, but it was a new device that he had not used for long, and it has been confirmed that it is not the phone he used during the process of the martial law declaration.

There is a possibility that the previous phone contained evidence such as Telegram chat records related to the conspiracy for the martial law declaration.

It is also reported that one of the reasons for the emergency arrest of the former minister was such concerns of the destruction of evidence.

The fact that the former minister lives in a residence under security, making it difficult for investigators to access him, was also considered in this urgent arrest.

The prosecution plans to request an arrest warrant for the former minister as early as tomorrow (Dec. 9).

In addition to the former minister, the Special Investigation Headquarters is also summoning military officials for questioning, including Jeong Jin-pal, the deputy commander of the emergency, and Lee Sang-hyun, the commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade of the Army Special Warfare Command, who were dispatched to the National Assembly.

This has been reported from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office.