Seoul: A special counsel team on Thursday denied violating the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on hosting U.S. troops in South Korea when it searched an air base jointly run by the allies earlier this year, after the U.S. military lodged a complaint over the incident.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in July, special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team carried out a search and seizure at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid.
A diplomatic source revealed that U.S. Forces Korea Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson recently sent a letter to the foreign ministry protesting the search. The protest arose as the U.S. military believed it should have been consulted beforehand, considering investigators would have to go through areas under its control while searching an Air Force Master Control and Reporting Center operated by the South Korean military.
"It is not true that the special counsel's search and seizure violated the agreement," assistant special counsel Park Ji-young said in a briefing, referring to the allies' SOFA that governs the legal status of U.S. forces in South Korea. Park emphasized that her team's investigators were authorized to enter the facility in advance and were escorted by South Korean troops to the area in question according to a memorandum of understanding between the allies.
Park further clarified that the team presented a court-issued warrant at the location and received documents listed in the warrant voluntarily, noting there were no search activities in other locations. Additionally, Park stated that her team would not summon Yoon again for questioning after he appeared before the team Wednesday, during which Yoon reportedly exercised his right to remain silent during the near nine-hour session.