Former Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, Suspected of Improper Loans, Arrest Warrant Denied: "Need to Guarantee Right to Defense"

Former Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, accused of improperly lending hundreds of billions of won to relatives, avoided detention.

Former Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, who is suspected of improper loans involving relatives, appeared in court on the 26th at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, to attend a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) related to charges of breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

On the 26th, Judge Jung Won, head of the warrant division at the Seoul Southern District Court, conducted a pre-arrest detention hearing for Sohn, who is charged with breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and subsequently decided to dismiss the arrest warrant. Judge Jung explained, "Considering the prosecution's level of proof regarding the conspiracy or specific involvement in the crime, there is room for the suspect to dispute the charges, so it is necessary to guarantee the right to defense."

He added, "The mere fact that some of the suspect's statements appear false or that there are circumstances suggesting past evidence destruction does not definitively indicate a risk of future evidence destruction or flight," and stated, "Under the current circumstances, it is difficult to recognize the necessity or appropriateness of detaining the suspect."

Former Chairman Sohn is accused of being involved in unauthorized loans approved for corporations and individual business owners related to his relatives from April 2020 to January of this year. The total amount of improper loans is 45 billion won. The prosecution argued that Sohn influenced Woori Bank's failure to verify the authenticity of loan documents or properly evaluate collateral and guarantees, asserting that detention was necessary.

The investigation into Sohn began in August when the Financial Supervisory Service detected approximately 35 billion won in improper loans issued by Woori Bank during an inspection. During the investigation, the prosecution additionally uncovered improper loans amounting to over 10 billion won beyond what the financial authorities had reported.