Korean Bar Association "Regret over Public Corruption Investigation Office's Request for Arrest Warrant after Dismissal of Son Junseong's Arrest Warrant"

Son Joon-sung, the Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office and a key figure in the 'whistleblowing solicitation' allegations during former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's tenure, is attending the warrant hearing held on the 26th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Korean Bar Association expressed regret on the 26th over the decision of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Hogeum), which immediately requested an arrest warrant after the court dismissed the arrest warrant for Son Joon-sung, former Policy Officer of Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, a key figure in the 'accusation manipulation' suspicion.

The Bar Association released a statement saying, "We express regret to Hogeum for unusually requesting an arrest warrant immediately after the arrest warrant for the suspect was dismissed."

The Bar Association argued, "Criminal suspects must be able to properly exercise their right to defense guaranteed by the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act," adding, "Hogeum, one of the top investigative agencies, ignored rules and regulations."

They continued, "By repeatedly requesting arrest warrants without providing appropriate opportunities and time to guarantee the right to defense on the grounds that the suspect was uncooperative with the investigation, they infringed on the fundamental rights of the people," criticizing the action.

The Bar Association added, "If such investigative methods are tolerated, the practice of immediately requesting arrest warrants after dismissal of arrest warrants will become established, leading to potential abuse of arrest warrant requests," urging, "Please make careful judgments to prevent investigative practices that infringe on fundamental rights from taking root."

Hogeum requested an arrest warrant on the 20th, claiming that Prosecutor Son refused to appear for summons, but the court dismissed it. Subsequently, they requested a pre-arrest warrant again on the 23rd. The pre-trial detention hearing for Prosecutor Son was held at the Seoul Central District Court on the morning of the same day and ended after about 2 hours and 40 minutes. The decision on whether to detain Prosecutor Son is expected to be announced late in the afternoon.