'Arrest Warrant Denied for Jeon Jun-kyung, Former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, Suspected of Receiving Bribes Worth 700 Million Won'

The arrest warrant for Jeon Jun-gyeong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, who is accused of receiving bribes worth around 700 million won from developers in Baekhyeon-dong, was dismissed on the 28th.

Shin Young-hee, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) for Jeon, who is charged with bribery and mediation fees under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and stated, "Considering the principle of non-custodial investigation and the progress of the investigation, it is necessary to guarantee the suspect the opportunity to defend himself while not in custody," thereby dismissing the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant.

Judge Shin also said, "Given that the suspect has a fixed residence and has sincerely cooperated with the investigation, and considering family relations, it is difficult to see a risk of flight," and added, "Considering the evidence collected so far, it is hard to judge that the suspect poses a risk of destroying evidence beyond the scope of exercising the right to defense."

Former Vice President Jeon Jun-kyung of the Democratic Research Institute Heading to Court on Allegations of Receiving Bribes Worth Hundreds of Millions [Image Source=Yonhap News]

Jeon is accused of receiving a total of 758.88 million won and using a luxury car provided as a bribe from six companies between July 2015 and December last year, during his tenure as a non-standing member of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and as the director of the Yongin City Policy Research Institute, in exchange for mediating petitions to the Anti-Corruption Commission and local government permits (mediation fees under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes).

He is also charged with accepting a total of 26 million won in bribes from a company participating in the Shingil hot spring development project from January to July 2017, related to his duties in the commission’s activities, including decisions on grievances to the Anti-Corruption Commission (bribery).

The prosecution began investigating after detecting circumstances in which Jeong Ba-ul, chairman of Asia Developer, handed over about 100 million won to Jeon as mediation fees during the investigation into preferential treatment allegations in Baekhyeon-dong development.