[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The arrest warrant for Kang Jin-gu, the representative of the citizen media outlet Daetamsa, who is accused of defaming Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon by raising suspicions about a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong, was dismissed.
On the 22nd, Judge Yoo Chang-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court held a pre-arrest hearing for Kang and dismissed the arrest warrant, stating, "It is difficult to see any risk of evidence destruction or flight."
Kang is accused of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, trespassing in a shared residence under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts, and coercion of an interview under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Last October, Daetamsa raised suspicions via its YouTube channel that Minister Han had a late-night drinking party at a high-end bar in Cheongdam-dong with President Yoon Seok-yeol and dozens of lawyers from the law firm Kim & Chang. At that time, the fan cafe for First Lady Kim Keon-hee, Geonsarang, and the New Hope Coalition filed a complaint against Kang at the Seocho Police Station in Seoul for defamation by spreading false information.
In September of last year, Kang was also accused of violating the Stalking Punishment Act by having a Daetamsa reporter follow Minister Han as he left work by car. Regarding this incident, the police applied for an arrest warrant for Kang on charges of trespassing in a shared residence in December last year, but the court dismissed it, stating that the grounds for detention were not properly substantiated.
Meanwhile, Kang appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 10 a.m. on the same day and claimed, "There has never been a precedent where an arrest warrant was requested twice simply because a journalist conducted investigative activities to monitor and criticize a high-ranking public official," adding, "The suspicions about the Cheongdam-dong drinking party are matters that still require fact-finding."
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