The arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was dismissed early on the morning of the 27th. Representative Lee, who was waiting at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, will be released immediately. Representative Lee, who succeeded in reviving his article, is expected to begin rebuilding his position within the party by strengthening his existing position, which has argued that the prosecution’s investigation was unfair.
Seoul Central District Court Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, in charge of warrants, dismissed the arrest warrant at 2:24 a.m. on the same day after conducting an interrogation of the suspect (substantive warrant review) before arresting Representative Lee the previous day. Chief Judge Yoo stated the reason for dismissing the warrant, saying, “Considering the degree of need to guarantee the suspect’s right to defense and the degree of concern about destruction of evidence, it is difficult to say that there is a reason and necessity for the suspect’s detention to the extent of excluding the principle of investigation without detention.”
Representative Lee’s supporters gathered in front of the Seoul Detention Center shouted in unison and chanted Representative Lee’s name when the news of the dismissal was announced. Democratic Party lawmakers also posted on Facebook on this day, “Justice is alive” (Jeon Yong-gi), “Dismissed!” (Go Min-jeong), “It’s dismissed. We all screamed together. I’m in tears” (Han Jun-ho), “I’m hugging my face and crying.” “I blushed” (Park Hong-geun) and “One judge did a greater job than 168 people” (Kim Yong-min).
Chief Judge Yoo, who dismissed the warrant, said regarding the charge of instigation of perjury, “The charge appears to be justified.” Regarding the Baekhyeon-dong development project, “There is considerable suspicion that the suspect was involved in the exclusion of the corporation’s participation in the project when considering the suspect’s status, related approval documents, and statements of those involved, but direct evidence regarding this is lacking.” “At this point, it is difficult to conclude that the suspect’s right to defense, which is being refuted from a factual or legal perspective, has reached the point where it is excluded.” Regarding the Ssangbangwool remittance case to North Korea, he said, “Based on the relevant data to date, including the statement of Lee Hwa-young, a key person involved, there appears to be room for dispute regarding the suspect’s awareness, collusion, and degree of involvement.”
Regarding the ‘concerns about destruction of evidence’ emphasized by the prosecution, Chief Judge Yoo said, “In the case of the perjury teacher and the Baekhyeon-dong development project, it is difficult to say that there is a concern about the destruction of evidence in light of the human and material data secured to date,” and “in the case of remittances to North Korea.” , Although there are circumstances to suspect inappropriate intervention by people around the suspect in relation to Lee Hwa-young’s statement, there is insufficient data to conclude that the suspect directly intervened, and there is no arbitrariness in Lee Hwa-young’s existing statement to the investigative agency. Considering the fact that it is difficult to change the statement and that changes in the statement are ultimately the area of judgment on whether the statement is credible, the situation of the suspect attending a separate trial, and the fact that the suspect is the current representative of a political party and is the subject of public surveillance and criticism, there is concern about destruction of evidence. “It’s difficult to say for sure,” he said.
Previously, Chief Judge Yoo conducted the interrogation for approximately 9 hours and 20 minutes from 10:07 a.m. to 7:23 p.m. the previous day. Representative Lee is accused of causing at least 20 billion won in damage to the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation by giving preferential treatment in licensing to a private business in Baekhyeon-dong (breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes), and a total of 8 million dollars, including visit expenses owed to North Korea, to be paid to North Korea. He is accused of having the group pay money (bribery under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act), and inciting a witness to commit perjury in a trial for violating the Public Official Electio메이저사이트n Act related to the suspicion of ‘impersonating a prosecutor’ (inducing perjury).
During the review on this day, the prosecution defined the Baekhyeon-dong suspicion and the suspicion of sending money to North Korea as a ‘power-related corruption case’ and ‘a case of backward collusion between politics and business’, respectively. After insisting on explaining the basic charges, he emphasized the need for detention by citing the biggest issue of this interrogation, ‘concerns about destruction of evidence.’ The prosecution prepared 500 pages of PPT material for the warrant review that day. The opinion submitted to the court alone amounted to approximately 1,500 pages. Representative Lee’s side completely denied collusion with Mr. Kim In-seop, who was designated as a lobbyist in the Baekhyeon-dong suspicions, and Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, and countered that the allegations presented by the prosecution were false. Regarding the need for detention claimed by the prosecution, they refuted that there was no risk of Lee running away, citing the fact that Representative Lee has cooperated with the investigation by responding to the prosecution’s summons and the fact that he is the leader of the main opposition party.
As a result, the prosecution, which failed to convince the court of the need to arrest Lee, is expected to inevitably suffer a major blow to the legitimacy of the investigation. The Democratic Party is expected to launch a large-scale counterattack starting today, centering on Representative Lee, claiming that the prosecution’s investigation was unreasonable. There are speculations that the prosecution will closely review the reasons for dismissing the warrant and hand Mr. Lee over to trial without detention after the Chuseok holiday.
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