Special Prosecutor Investigates Choo Kyung-ho for 23 Hours Over Allegations of Interfering with National Assembly's Lifting of Martial Law

11 Hours Spent Reviewing Testimony... Choo "Provided Detailed Account of Events on Martial Law Day"

Allegations of Repeatedly Changing General Assembly Venue at President's Request... Investigated as Suspect in Key Martial Law Mission

Record of Consecutive Calls with Yoon and Han Duck-soo Immediately After Martial Law Declaration... Choo Denies Charges

Choo Kyung-ho After Special Prosecutor's Investigation (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Jae-goo = Choo Kyung-ho, former floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks after concluding his investigation at the office of the Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor's Team for Treason, set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 31. 2025.10.31 jjaeck9@yna.co.kr

The Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor's Team, investigating allegations of treason and foreign exchange violations related to the Dec. 3 emergency martial law, summoned and questioned Choo Kyung-ho, former floor leader of the People Power Party, for approximately 23 hours.

The special prosecutor's team summoned former floor leader Choo as a suspect on charges of engaging in a key mission during the martial law, from 10 a.m. on Oct. 30 to around 9:13 a.m. on Oct. 31.

While the actual investigation concluded in about 12 hours around 10 p.m., the review of the testimony alone took 11 hours, resulting in an unusually long period for the entire process to be completed.

After the investigation, former floor leader Choo met with reporters and stated, "I provided a detailed account of the facts on the day of the martial law declaration," and added, "I urge the current administration to cease political oppression and retribution and focus on the people's livelihood." He did not separately respond to questions about why the testimony review took so long.

Jang Dong-hyuk, the party leader, Jeong Hee-yong, the secretary-general, and Park Joon-tae, the chief of the party leader's secretariat, remained in front of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building from the previous night until the conclusion of former floor leader Choo's investigation.

Earlier, former floor leader Choo, who arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building the previous morning, argued, "On the day of the martial law declaration, after speaking with the Prime Minister and the President, I changed the venue of the general assembly from the party headquarters to the National Assembly and moved to the National Assembly with the lawmakers. If I had conspired with the President to obstruct the vote, why would I have changed the general assembly venue to the National Assembly and moved there, instead of remaining at the party headquarters?"

Choo Kyung-ho After Special Prosecutor's Investigation (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Jae-goo = Choo Kyung-ho, former floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks after concluding his investigation at the office of the Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor's Team for Treason, set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 31. 2025.10.31 jjaeck9@yna.co.kr

Former floor leader Choo is accused of interfering with other lawmakers' participation in the vote to lift martial law by repeatedly changing the venue for the general assembly at the request of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's camp during the emergency martial law declaration last year.

The special prosecutor's team reportedly pressed former floor leader Choo intensively on the reasons for changing the venue of the emergency general assembly three times—from the National Assembly to the party headquarters, then back to the National Assembly, and finally to the party headquarters—after the martial law declaration.

Due to the repeated changes in the general assembly venue, many People Power Party lawmakers were unable to attend the vote to lift martial law at the time. The National Assembly's resolution to demand the lifting of martial law was passed with 190 members present and 190 in favor, with 90 out of 108 People Power Party lawmakers not participating.

The special prosecutor's team is believed to have also confirmed the reasons for former floor leader Choo's calls with former President Yoon and others immediately after the martial law declaration.

At the time, former floor leader Choo, who was traveling from his home to the National Assembly by car, made consecutive calls to Hong Chul-ho, former senior political affairs secretary, and Han Duck-soo, former Prime Minister, and was later found to have also spoken with former President Yoon.

The special prosecutor's team suspects that former floor leader Choo may have been asked to fulfill a "role" from the ruling party during the martial law situation in his conversations with them.

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor's team plans to proceed with the pre-trial examination of witnesses for former party leader Han Dong-hoon and lawmakers Kim Tae-ho, Seo Beom-su, and Kim Yong-tae to secure testimony. This is a procedure to obtain testimony from witnesses in court before a trial when investigations by investigative agencies are difficult.

Park Ji-young, a special prosecutor, stated at a briefing the previous day, "Even though we have investigated former floor leader Choo, due to the involvement of co-conspirators, the pre-trial examination of witnesses will proceed as planned."

In the case of lawmaker Kim Hee-jung, whose request for pre-trial examination of witnesses was withdrawn, her investigation schedule and method have been agreed upon, and she is expected to be summoned for questioning soon.

Furthermore, although some People Power Party lawmakers who did not participate in the vote have been investigated as accused, it has been stated that it is not yet at the stage to definitively label them as co-conspirators with former floor leader Choo.

Choo Kyung-ho, Former Floor Leader, Responding to Questions (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Jae-goo = Choo Kyung-ho, former floor leader of the People Power Party, responds to a reporter's question as he appears as a suspect at the office of the Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor's Team for Treason, set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 30. 2025.10.30 jjaeck9@yna.co.kr

Former floor leader Choo's side maintains that he was not aware of the martial law in advance and did not discuss obstructing the vote with former President Yoon.

They cite that if former President Yoon had ordered the obstruction of the vote, lawmakers should not have gathered at the National Assembly, but the venue for the general assembly was changed back to the National Assembly after the phone call.

Regarding the change in the general assembly venue, they explain that while the initial notice to lawmakers was to gather at the National Assembly, a conflict arose because a Supreme Council meeting was scheduled to be held at the party headquarters at the time, and this, coupled with access restrictions to the National Assembly, made the change unavoidable.

The special prosecutor's team launched a full-scale investigation last month by searching the residence, office, and National Assembly office of former floor leader Choo.

Subsequently, by summoning and questioning numerous lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties as witnesses, they have been piecing together the situation inside the National Assembly on the night of the martial law declaration and the communication content among lawmakers.

The special prosecutor's team plans to decide whether to request an arrest warrant after investigating all the allegations against former floor leader Choo. Yonhap News