President's Exclusive Plane Takeoff Sparks Escape Rumors... Yoon's Every Move Under Close Watch

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As news broke that the presidential aircraft, the "Air Force One," took off on the morning of the 10th, various speculations, including rumors of President Yoon Seok-yeol fleeing, arose. In response, the Presidential Security Service clarified that it was a flight conducted as part of a regular performance inspection. With President Yoon's prolonged silence amid the impeachment crisis, all his actions have drawn intense attention.

Earlier, the civic group Military Human Rights Center issued an "urgent report" that morning, confirming that the Air Force One had taken off from Seoul Airport. They added, "Before takeoff, the aircraft is maintained by the Air Force 35th Squadron, and flight plans are notified to the air traffic control tower. However, there was no maintenance before takeoff, nor was any flight plan notified." They also stated, "The destination is unknown, and the passengers have not been confirmed."

This led to confusion online, with speculation such as "Is President Yoon fleeing on the presidential aircraft?" The Ministry of Justice imposed a travel ban on President Yoon around 3:30 p.m. the previous day. Although it is unlikely for a sitting president to flee using the presidential aircraft, the sudden news of Air Force One's takeoff unsettled public sentiment.

As the controversy grew, the Presidential Security Service issued a statement to the press, saying, "Today's Air Force One flight was a regularly conducted performance inspection flight," and urged, "Please refrain from unverified unilateral claims and speculative reporting." A Joint Chiefs of Staff official also explained, "It is a maintenance flight conducted weekly on a regular basis." It was reported that after completing the inspection flight, Air Force One landed again at Seongnam Airport around 11 a.m.

The controversy over the regular inspection flight of Air Force One reflects the high level of public interest in President Yoon's movements. Since his national address on the 7th, in which he stated, "I will entrust the ruling party with the future political stability measures, including the issue of my term," President Yoon has been in seclusion for three days. Although presidential office aides have been coming to work as usual, they have remained silent without briefings or media announcements.

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Meanwhile, pressure for investigations targeting President Yoon is intensifying. The prosecution has formed a special investigation headquarters and is making an all-out effort, including filing an arrest warrant against former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who led the emergency martial law. In addition to the special investigation headquarters, the police and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gong-su-cheo) are also competitively conducting investigations into the emergency martial law incident.

Notably, for the first time in constitutional history, a sitting president, President Yoon, has been subjected to a travel ban, creating a turbulent atmosphere within the presidential office. There are forecasts that investigative agencies such as the prosecution will summon, arrest, or conduct searches and seizures of President Yoon. Since President Yoon is at the top of the emergency martial law incident, such steps are considered inevitable to secure evidence.

Consequently, presidential office aides have recently shown signs of preparing for searches and seizures, such as withdrawing from and then re-registering on the Telegram messenger. Despite this, the presidential office has refrained from making official statements. There was no response from the presidential office's public relations line regarding the unprecedented travel ban on a sitting president or the fleeing controversy on this day. With the parliamentary vote on the impeachment motion approaching and public opinion worsening, the situation is being closely monitored while behind-the-scenes negotiations with the ruling party continue.

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