Pres. Yoon faces travel ban and intensified investigation

[Anchor]

Hello.

This is KBS 9 o'clock news.

For the first time in constitutional history, a sitting president has been banned from leaving the country.

There are also speculations that a forced investigation, including a search and seizure, may be conducted against President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Reporter Kim So-young is covering the story at the prosecutor's office.

Reporter Kim! Did the head of the Corruption Investigation Office show intentions for the arrest of President Yoon following the travel ban?

[Report]

Yes, the Ministry of Justice has imposed a travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of insurrection, this afternoon (12.9).

This is the first time a sitting president has been banned from leaving the country.

A travel ban is a measure taken by investigative agencies to prevent the subject of an investigation from leaving the country to facilitate the investigation.

This can be seen as the investigation into President Yoon intensifying, and there are speculations that forced investigations, including search and seizure, may soon be conducted against him.

Today, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office, Oh Dong-woon, stated at the National Assembly, "We will adhere to the principle of arresting the masterminds and key criminals of insurrection."

The special investigation headquarters of the prosecution is also accelerating its investigation.

Starting this morning, they conducted search and seizure operations at the offices of the Defense Counterintelligence Command and other officials, including the chief Yeon In-hyung.

The Counterintelligence Command is under suspicion of having conspired to declare martial law by preparing related documents before the emergency martial law.

The prosecution is also summoning military officials, including Kwak Jong-geun, the commander of the Special Warfare Command, and Jeon Ha-kyu, the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, for questioning, and has conducted a nearly 10-hour third round of questioning of former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who was urgently arrested.

Former Minister Kim is reported to have mostly acknowledged the facts related to the emergency martial law.

The prosecution is expected to request an arrest warrant for former Minister Kim as early as tonight.

The Corruption Investigation Office has also formed a 'Martial Law Task Force' led by Chief Investigator Lee Dae-hwan.

The task force consists of 50 personnel, essentially all members of the Corruption Investigation Office, and has promised a thorough investigation based on law and principles.

This has been Kim So-young from KBS News at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.