'Accusation Referral Suspicion' Son Junsung's Warrant Dismissed... Corruption Investigation Office Faces Investigation Setback (Comprehensive)

Son Joon-sung, the Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office and a key figure in the 'Solicitation of Prosecution' allegations during former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's tenure at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, 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 Daehyun] The arrest warrant for Son Junsung, former Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (currently Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office), a key figure in the 'Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution "report solicitation"' suspicion, was dismissed on the 26th. The dismissal of the warrant for Son is expected to inevitably disrupt the plan of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to focus investigations on summoning and questioning Kim Woong, another key suspect and member of the People Power Party, as well as verifying the involvement of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

Court: "Lack of necessity and adequacy for detention"

At around 10:40 p.m. on the same day, Judge Lee Sechang, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the CIO against former Officer Son. Judge Lee stated, "Considering the suspect's attendance requests and the progress of the investigation, it is difficult to see any risk of evidence destruction or flight beyond the scope of the suspect's legitimate defense rights," and added, "Taking into account the suspect's statement during the hearing expressing willingness to cooperate sincerely with future investigations, it is judged that at this stage, there is a lack of necessity and adequacy for detention."

After the pre-arrest hearing (warrant substantive examination) on the day, Son, who was waiting at Seoul Detention Center, immediately proceeded with release procedures.

Earlier, the CIO had filed a pre-arrest warrant for former Officer Son at the Seoul Central District Court over the past weekend. A CIO official explained the reason for the filing, saying, "Despite repeated requests to appear and cooperate with the investigation, the suspect showed uncooperative behavior by continuously delaying attendance for reasons difficult to accept." This is the first time since the CIO's establishment in January this year that it has sought to secure the suspect's custody during an investigation.

Former Officer Son is suspected of instructing prosecutors and investigators to draft complaints and collect supporting materials against figures in the ruling party while serving as the Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in April last year, and delivering the complaints to Kim Woong (then a candidate for the Future United Party in the general election). The CIO applied charges against Son including abuse of authority, obstruction of official duties, disclosure of official secrets, election interference, violation of the Public Official Election Act, and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.

On the other hand, Son's defense team pointed out the illegality of the summons process and forced investigation procedures. The defense attorney stated the previous day, "(The CIO prosecutor) sent a de facto threatening message mentioning forced investigation and political considerations related to the presidential primary schedule," and added, "This infringed on the suspect's constitutional and criminal procedure law rights to defense, who had clearly expressed willingness to appear." Son also said upon appearing in court that day, "I will explain in detail to the judge the unfairness of the warrant request."

CIO faces criticism of 'overreach'... "Will decide on reapplication of arrest warrant after investigation and evidence reinforcement"

The CIO initially filed the arrest warrant for former Officer Son immediately after the court dismissed the arrest warrant. The court reportedly dismissed the arrest warrant on the grounds that "it cannot be concluded that the suspect would fail to comply with attendance requests."

Because of this, there were repeated reactions of "unacceptable" regarding the CIO's filing of the arrest warrant within and outside the prosecution. In such circumstances, the dominant evaluation was that the CIO's filing of a pre-arrest warrant, which has stricter issuance requirements than an arrest warrant, without even a single summons investigation, was beyond common sense. An arrest warrant is issued when a suspect suspected of a crime fails or is likely to fail to comply with attendance requests from investigative agencies without justifiable reasons.

On the other hand, for an arrest warrant to be issued, there must be a risk of flight or evidence destruction, and evidence supporting the criminal charges must be submitted.

Ultimately, the warrant for former Officer Son was dismissed. If criticism of the CIO's investigative capabilities intensifies, there is a high possibility that the entire investigation will be disrupted. A CIO official said, "Although regrettable, we respect the court's decision," and added, "We will decide whether to reapply for an arrest warrant after further investigation of Prosecutor Son Junsung and reinforcement of evidence."