Ruling party demands resignation of CIO head

[Anchor]

The ruling People Power Party stated that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) retreated from handing over the execution of the arrest warrant to the police, which they interpreted as an admission of illegality.

They also urged the head of the CIO to resign.

They called on the police to refrain from politically biased investigative attitudes.

Kim Min-hyuk reports.

[Report]

Members of the People Power Party gathered in front of the presidential residence early in the morning.

They repeatedly claimed that the CIO's arrest warrant is invalid.

[Na Kyung-won/People Power Party Member: "The CIO has no investigative authority regarding the president's charges of insurrection. Furthermore, the warrant issued this time is an illegal warrant."]

Although about forty members gathered, the party leadership distanced itself, calling it a personal action.

Instead, they directed their criticism towards the CIO.

They criticized the CIO for acknowledging its own illegality by attempting, and failing, to delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the police.

[Kwon Young-se/Chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee: "(The CIO) should not be swayed by the Democratic Party's political agitation but should consider national dignity and conduct investigations within the framework of the law."]

They urged the CIO head take the responsibility for the confusion caused by illegal investigations, stating that reissuing an illgal arrest warrant would only exacerbate its illegality.

The People Power Party also visited the National Office of Investigation, which is cooperating with the CIO in the investigation.

They demanded that the police refrain from investigative attitudes that could be misunderstood as politically biased.

The People Power Party argued that President Yoon should be subject to voluntary and non-custodial investigations based on the presumption of innocence.

However, they clarified that the location and method of the investigation should be determined by the investigative agency and the president's legal team.

KBS News, Kim Min-hyuk.