Police Warrant Requested After 4 Applications
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution has requested arrest warrants for two individuals related to allegations of irregular hiring involving former members of Eun Soo-mi’s Gyeonggi Seongnam mayoral election campaign, which is currently under police investigation. Previously, the prosecution had rejected the police’s arrest warrant requests three times, demanding supplementary investigations, but has now filed the arrest warrants on the fourth request from the police.
According to the legal community on the 9th, the Criminal Division 2 of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Seongnam Branch (Chief Prosecutor Son Chan-oh) filed arrest warrants the day before against Mr. A, a key figure from Mayor Eun’s election campaign, and Mr. B, a Seongnam city employee, on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception.
Earlier, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency, which is investigating the case, also applied for an arrest warrant for another Seongnam city employee, Mr. C. However, the prosecution reportedly did not file an arrest warrant for Mr. C, citing insufficient evidence of the crime.
Previously, former secretary Lee, who worked in Mayor Eun’s election campaign, submitted a 'Seongnam City Public Institution Hiring Corruption Report' to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on January 25, stating that "27 people from the campaign were irregularly hired at Seohyeon Library, Seongnam City Hall, and affiliated organizations."
The police, having launched an investigation, conducted two raids on Seongnam City Hall in February and May, and on September 8 applied for arrest warrants for Mr. A and others. However, the prosecution rejected the request, citing the need for supplementary investigation. Even afterward, the prosecution did not accept the police’s arrest warrant requests twice more.
The police plan to summon Mayor Eun for questioning once the custody of Mr. A and others is secured.
The pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) for Mr. A and others is scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. on the 10th at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Division 6 of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Byung-moon) indicted Mayor Eun without detention on charges including bribery offering, bribery acceptance, abuse of authority, and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act on the 30th of last month.
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