Court dismisses legality review

[Anchor]

The request for a review of the legality of President Yoon's arrest was dismissed last night (1.16).

In particular, this decision was made by the Seoul Central District Court, which is analyzed to have largely resolved the jurisdictional controversy over the warrant that President Yoon's side has led.

Reporter Shin Hyun-wook reports.

[Report]

The review of the legality of the arrest was conducted without the presence of the party, President Yoon Suk Yeol.

About four hours after the review ended, the Seoul Central District Court stated, "This request is recognized as having no grounds," and dismissed the request for a review of the legality of the arrest.

This is the first judgment made by the Seoul Central District Court regarding the arrest warrant for President Yoon.

President Yoon's side reportedly argued during the approximately two-hour review that the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.

They contended that the CIO does not have investigative authority over the crime of insurrection, and that the jurisdiction lies with the Seoul Central District Court, which handles cases from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office that will take over the case.

Accordingly, the request toreview the arrest's legality was submitted to the Seoul Central District Court, not the Seoul Western District Court.

[Seok Dong-hyun/President Yoon's lawyer/Yesterday: "We explained the illegality of the investigation by the CIO against the president, and the illegality centered on the jurisdictional violation of the arrest warrant request...."]

However, the court's dismissal of the legality review request has led to an analysis that the controversy has been largely resolved.

[Han Sang-hee/Emeritus Professor, Konkuk University Law School: "The suspect applied for a legality review of the arrest to the Central District Court, and by the Central District Court making a dismissal decision in that process, the two controversies over legality were resolved at once."]

Today (1.17), the CIO, which requested a detention warrant for President Yoon, also explained that this court decision has somewhat resolved issues regarding investigative authority and jurisdiction.

President Yoon's lawyer, Seok Dong-hyun, expressed respect for the court's decision but stated that he was disappointed that they could not gain the court's agreement on the illegality and unfairness of the arrest.

KBS News, Shin Hyun-wook.