SCIA, police to form joint team to investigate Yoon's martial law bid

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- The Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA) and the police will form a special joint investigation team to look into remaining issues related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid in December 2024, officials of the agencies said Thursday.

The two agencies are currently working out the details, such as staffing and office location, to launch the special investigation unit, according to their officials. The unit will handle all remaining cases related to the martial law bid, including those handed over by now-expired special prosecutor teams.

The idea of creating a joint investigation body was first proposed in August by Kwon Chang-young, who led a broad special counsel investigation on allegations related to the martial law declaration. At that time, Kwon had stressed that a long-term joint investigation team would be necessary "as long as the capabilities and will of the insurrection forces remain as they were."

Earlier investigations into the short-lived martial law declaration failed to cover all related issues. South Korea previously ran two rounds of special counsel probes: the first round involving three separate special counsel teams and the second comprehensive probe led by Kwon.

The SCIA is expected to dispatch a senior director-level official who is a former prosecutor to the envisioned joint investigation team, while the police plan to send Kang Il-goo, who has been leading investigations into allegations earlier probed by the three initial special counsel teams, according to the officials.

The team's headquarters is expected to be set up at a police facility or a third site. The SCIA office is currently under construction, as the agency opened only about a month ago as part of a major reform that stripped the prosecution service of its investigative powers.