What cases will the SCIA-police joint team investigate in the Yoon martial law case?

The team will handle all remaining cases related to the martial law bid, including cases transferred by special prosecutor teams whose mandates have expired. The agencies are still working out the unit’s staffing and office location.

Why is a long-term joint investigation team being formed for Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law bid?

Earlier investigations did not cover all issues related to the short-lived declaration. Kwon Chang-young proposed a joint body in August and said a long-term team would be necessary as long as the capabilities and will of the insurrection forces remained as they were.

Who will the SCIA and police assign to the joint investigation team?

The SCIA is expected to send a senior director-level official who is a former prosecutor. Police plan to assign Kang Il-goo, who has been leading investigations into allegations previously examined by the three initial special counsel teams.

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

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Summary

The Serious Crime Investigation Agency and police will form a joint team to investigate remaining issues related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid in December 2024. The team will take on unresolved cases, including those transferred by expired special prosecutor teams. Officials are working out staffing and the team’s location. The unit follows two rounds of special counsel investigations that did not cover all related issues.

Key Facts

The joint team will also handle cases handed over by the now-expired special prosecutor teams.
Kwon Chang-young, who led the second comprehensive special counsel probe, first proposed a joint investigation body in August.
The SCIA is expected to dispatch a senior director-level official who is a former prosecutor.
Police plan to send Kang Il-goo, who has led investigations into allegations previously examined by the three initial special counsel teams.
The team’s headquarters is expected to be at a police facility or another site because the SCIA office is still under construction.

By Yonhap

Published Nov 5, 2026 12:44 pm KST

The building of Serious Crime Investigation Agency/ 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.

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