President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team strongly protested the police summoning of Park Chong-jun, chief of the Presidential Security Service, and other members of the security team, calling it a grave threat to national security.

Yoon’s legal team said Friday in a written statement that the current situation forces individuals to abandon their responsibilities, an abnormal act that disregards national security.

Park was booked last Friday on suspicion of obstructing special official duties after secret service officials blocked the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials from executing an arrest warrant for Yoon. 

The secret service chief appeared for police questioning at the National Office of Investigation in western Seoul on Friday morning. 

Yoon’s legal team defended the actions of the security team, saying that refusing to comply with an unlawful arrest warrant and denying access to a military protection area are lawful actions grounded in the principle of the rule of law.

They added that the summoning of senior security officials was intended to dismantle the leadership of the security team to unlawfully execute the arrest warrant. 

Yoon’s team also demanded an end to what it called the abuse of investigative authority and manipulative summonses.