The arrest warrant for Han Ju-hee, the major shareholder of the private equity firm Hahn & Brothers, which acquired the massage chair company Bodyfriend, was dismissed by the court.
On the 9th, Kim Mi-kyung, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) for Han and dismissed the arrest warrant, stating that it was difficult to recognize the necessity and proportionality (appropriateness) of the (arrest).
The court explained, "Even considering the additional criminal facts and investigation results after the previous dismissal of the arrest warrant request, it is still deemed necessary to guarantee the suspect's right to defense, and there appears to be no risk of evidence destruction or flight."
Earlier, Bodyfriend founder Kang Woong-cheol and Han had a dispute over management rights and last year filed complaints against each other with the prosecution on charges including breach of trust and embezzlement. Han is identified as the actual operator of the private equity firm Hahn & Brothers.
It is reported that during the investigation of the management rights dispute, the prosecution detected circumstances suggesting that Han lobbied high-ranking officials across political, governmental, and business sectors.
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