Kim Seong-hoon, deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service, is being taken in for questioning at the National Office of Investigation last Friday. (Yonhap)
Kim Seong-hoon, deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service, is being taken in for questioning at the National Office of Investigation last Friday. (Yonhap)

Kim Seong-hoon, the deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service under investigation for obstructing the execution of a court-issued warrant to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol, shared content from far-right YouTubers to his subordinates and frequently tried to justify Yoon's martial law declaration, a local media outlet reported Tuesday.

According to Korean-language newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, PSS officials said that Kim had sent 50 high-ranking officials of the agency a link with a far-right YouTube video that urges the "eradication of left-wing spies," after Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3. The YouTuber in the video claimed that the martial law decree was "to rid the country of pro-North Korean forces that divide public opinion and destroy South Korea whenever there is a national crisis," and that Yoon's impeachment was a "crime" since his actions were justifiable.

Kim also reportedly sent to his officials a link to an online petition calling for the nullification of the National Assembly's motion to impeach Yoon.

Kim admitted to sharing news articles, but claimed he could not confirm exactly what content he had shared with the other presidential bodyguards.

The PSS officials reportedly expressed shock over what they felt was Kim's attempt to force ideological education on them, but said they were discouraged from voicing opposition to Kim out of fear of retaliation. They claimed that Kim was rumored to have transferred those deemed not loyal to him to undesirable posts.

Police officials conducting the joint probe against Yoon -- under criminal investigation for leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power-- said Monday that a PSS official has testified that Yoon had asked the PSS to use firearms against the investigative authorities as they attempted to take him into custody.

The statement of testimony was made days before investigators arrested Yoon at the presidential residence on Jan. 15, following their first aborted attempt to arrest him on a warrant Jan. 3, according to the National Office of Investigation, under the National Police Agency.

Yoon allegedly had asked the top presidential bodyguards at a luncheon on Jan. 10, "Can't you use guns (during the arrest attempt)?" to which Kim reportedly had answered, "Yes, sir."

Testimony from other PSS officials states that the agency's Lee Kwang-woo, head of the Bodyguard Division, had instructed his officials to bring sub-machine guns and 80 rounds of live ammunition into the presidential residence ahead of the joint investigation team's second attempt to arrest Yoon on Jan. 15.

Yoon's legal team has denied that he instructed his security team to use firearms, claiming the guns and ammunition were moved simply as a precaution in response to a report about protestors trying to break into the residence. Kim also denied being instructed to use or to consider using guns.

Kim is known as one of the hard-liners in the PSS, who reportedly earned trust and a high-ranking post in the agency due to his loyalty to the president. He was found to have planned a birthday celebration for Yoon on the 60th anniversary celebration of the PSS' foundation two years ago, and have held a surprise birthday event for first lady Kim Kun Hee last year.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com