The police have referred former presidential officials, including Yoon Jae-soon, the former Secretary for General Affairs at the presidential office, to the prosecution on charges of ordering the unauthorized removal and formatting of computers from the residence of former President Yoon Suk Yeol following the declaration of martial law.
The National Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters announced through a press release today (July 14) that it has "referred former Secretary Yoon and Kang Ui-gu, the former head of the First Presidential Office, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention."
According to the police investigation, the two individuals instructed administrative officers from the presidential office's General Affairs and Information Security Team to remove and format eight computers from the residence in mid-December 2024, after the martial law was lifted.
It is reported that the Special Investigation Headquarters initiated the investigation into the case on its own in January.
Furthermore, the Special Investigation Headquarters has re-referred the case involving former Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk and former Secretary Yoon to the prosecution following supplementary investigations. They are suspected of ordering the initialization of presidential office computers immediately after the former president's removal from office.
In March, the prosecution had returned the case—in which the Special Investigation Headquarters had referred former Chief of Staff Chung and former Secretary Yoon on charges including damage to public electronic records, abuse of power, and violation of the Presidential Records Management Act—demanding further investigation.
The two are accused of ordering the initialization of approximately 1,000 computers at the presidential office to destroy evidence related to the martial law declaration.
(Photo: Yonhap News)