'Arrest Warrant for Kyungbo Pharmaceutical Executive in Hospital Hundreds of Billions Rebate Suspicion Rejected'

Court: "Difficult to See Grounds for Detention"

The arrest warrant requested by the prosecution for a pharmaceutical executive under investigation for allegedly giving large-scale rebates to hospitals was dismissed by the court on the 29th.

Shin Han-mi, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for Kim Mo, the head of finance at Kyungbo Pharmaceutical, who is accused of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and made this decision. Judge Shin stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "The suspect needs to be guaranteed the right to defense, and at this stage, it is difficult to see any reason to detain the suspect."

According to the prosecution, Kim is suspected of being involved in a scheme where Kyungbo Pharmaceutical, an affiliate of Chong Kun Dang, gave illegal rebates worth hundreds of billions of won to hospitals by returning part of the drug prices. Earlier, the prosecution took over the case, which was reported as a public interest report to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and began a forced investigation of Kyungbo Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in December last year. In January of this year, they also conducted a search and seizure at Kyungbo Pharmaceutical's office located in the metropolitan area.

The prosecution plans to review the reasons for dismissal and decide whether to reapply for the arrest warrant.