Former Press Union Chairman Shin Hak-rim has requested the court to reconsider whether his detention is justified on charges of receiving money from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, in exchange for a 'false interview' report that defamed President Yoon Seok-yeol's honor.
According to the legal community on the 25th, former Chairman Shin filed a detention review petition at the Seoul Central District Court on the same day. This comes four days after the arrest warrant was issued.
Shin's hearing will be held on the 27th at 2:10 p.m. before the Criminal Appeals Division 1-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges An Hee-gil, Jo Jeong-rae, and Lee Young-gwang). A detention review is a procedure in which a detained suspect challenges the legality of the detention and requests the court to reconsider. If the court accepts the petition, the prosecution must release the suspect.
Cho Young-sun, the lawyer representing former Chairman Shin, explained the reason for the detention review petition, stating, "The prosecution claims that Mr. Kim conducted a false interview as part of a scheme to shift the media narrative, but Mr. Shin had no knowledge of this and did not participate or engage in the editing meetings."
Shin Hak-rim Attending the Detention Hearing (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Ji-eun Lee = Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Media Union, who is accused of damaging President Yoon Seok-yeol's reputation through a false interview related to the Daejang-dong incident during the last presidential election, is heading to the courtroom to attend the detention hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the morning of June 20, 2024.
jieunlee@yna.co.kr
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He added, "The time for the warrant hearing was too short to fully consider the nature of the book given by former Chairman Shin to Mr. Kim and the significance of the money received from him. The prosecution's claim that Mr. Kim used former Chairman Shin, whom he met for the first time in 20 years, to create a false frame is also contrary to common sense."
Earlier, on the 21st, Judge Kim Seok-beom of the Seoul Central District Court, in charge of warrants, issued arrest warrants for Mr. Kim and former Chairman Shin, who face charges including breach of trust, bribery, defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, and concealment of criminal proceeds.
Mr. Kim and former Chairman Shin are accused of exchanging 165 million won disguised as book payments in return for false reports related to the investigation of President Yoon’s Busan Savings Bank case, thereby defaming President Yoon through false interviews.
Former Chairman Shin also faces charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and a separate extortion charge related to former National Medical Center Director Jeong Ki-hyun. He is accused of threatening to reveal that he had transferred a book he purchased without permission to another person and extorting 50 million won.
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