Controversial unlawful arrest of President Yoon by Oh Dong-woon

Feb 24, 2025, 08:11 am

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/Photographed by Song Eui-joo

AsiaToday reporter Chun Hyun-bin

The controversy surrounding the alleged "abuse of power" by Oh Dong-woon, chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), during the unlawful arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol, is escalating as Oh faces allegations of violating the Penal Code with "illegal detention and arrest." Critics point out that the CIO head, who lacks the authority to investigate the president, abused his power to issue an unlawful arrest warrant, leading to the detention of the sitting president—an act that clearly meets the criteria for "treason and insurrection." Furthermore, there is a strong opinion that Oh should be urgently arrested and detained due to concerns about evidence tampering and flight risk.

According to political circles on Sunday, the sentiment that overseas media's report that Oh's unlawful arrest of President Yoon resembled a movie was not an exaggeration is spreading primarily among conservatives. The legal community points out that Oh committed more than several crimes. Article 124 of the Penal Code, "Illegal Detention and Arrest," applies to police, prosecutors, and court officials classified as "professions capable of detaining persons." This article states that authorities cannot abuse their power to arrest or detain ordinary citizens, and it is categorized as a serious crime under criminal law. Additionally, Oh is charged with "damage to public property" and "obstruction of official duties by deceit."

"The CIO, when sending investigation documents to the prosecution, omitted documents containing the fact that the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant application for President Yoon," Lawyer Kang Shin-up stated. "This constitutes a violation of both damage to public property and obstruction of official duties by deceit," he said.

Moreover, political and legal circles predict that "violations of the National Intelligence Service Act related to the Penal Code" will also be added to Oh's series of charges.

"Oh illegally harmed the head of state," Kang said. “This behavior is extremely serious as it leads to 'treason,' which aids hostile countries to encourage invasion, and 'insurrection,' which aims to usurp state power,” he added. The logic continues that Oh must be urgently arrested due to the significant national crimes he committed, coupled with concerns about evidence tampering and flight risk.

There are also increasing calls from the ruling party for the swift arrest and investigation of Oh.

#Oh Dong-hoon #President Yoon Suk-yeol #CIO