Rebellion Special Prosecutor Investigates Hong Cheol-ho and Others

[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor's Office for Rebellion and Foreign Affairs (Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok) is summoning Hong Cheol-ho, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, as a suspect for investigation.
Park Ji-young, assistant special prosecutor, stated at a regular press briefing held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd, "Former Senior Secretary Hong is being summoned as a suspect for investigation from 10:30 AM," and "Former Senior Secretary Hong is being investigated focusing on allegations related to him, as he may have heard or witnessed something before and after the declaration of martial law while attending the martial law cabinet meeting."
The special prosecutor's team suspects that former Senior Secretary Hong attempted to destroy evidence by changing mobile phones several times after the 12·3 martial law.
It is known that former Senior Secretary Hong had a phone call with Choo Kyung-ho, who was the floor leader of the People Power Party, for about 3 minutes from 10:56 PM on December 3, immediately after the declaration of the 12·3 martial law. The special prosecutor's team is investigating whether this call is related to the suspicion of Choo's obstruction of the National Assembly's vote on the resolution to lift the 12·3 martial law.
Former Senior Secretary Hong claims that he was not aware of the martial law declaration plan in advance and only learned about it shortly before the declaration on the day. In a previous investigation by the Special Investigation Headquarters for Martial Law of the Prosecution, he explained the day of the 12·3 martial law declaration, stating, "The President said, 'Do not persuade me' or 'Do not explain to me,' and upon hearing the word 'martial law,' I realized that martial law was being prepared."
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor's team is summoning Ryu Hyuk, former Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice, as a reference from the morning of the same day. This is to investigate the circumstances in which former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae convened a meeting of Ministry of Justice executives on the day of the 12·3 martial law declaration and gave instructions to the Prosecutor's Office to 'consider dispatching prosecutors to the Joint Investigation Headquarters.'  

kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-kyu Reporter