Prosecutors' Partial Success in Jo Guk Investigation... 6 Out of 11 Arrest Warrants Issued

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Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Regarding the three-pronged investigation surrounding former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, it has been revealed that about half of the arrest warrants requested by the prosecution have been issued by the court.

On the 2nd, Asia Economy compiled the issuance status of the arrest warrants requested by the prosecution and confirmed that out of a total of 11 cases, the court issued warrants for 6 cases. Among the 6 issued warrants are Cho Beom-dong, a fifth cousin of former Minister Cho Kuk; Jeong, former CEO of Nokwon C&I (formerly Cubes), a special ink manufacturing company; two accomplices who delivered bribes related to the Woongdong Hakwon hiring corruption; Cho Kuk’s younger brother Cho Kwon; his wife, Professor Jung Kyung-shim of Dongyang University; and Yoo Jae-soo, former Busan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, who was the key figure in the suspension of the inspection.

However, the arrest warrant for Cho Kwon, identified as the main culprit in the Woongdong Hakwon hiring corruption, was once dismissed. Arrest warrants were also requested for Lee Sang-hoon, CEO of Coringk PE, the operator of the so-called 'Cho Kuk Fund,' and Choi, CEO of Wells C&T, but the court did not accept them. Warrants for former Minister Cho Kuk, who is involved in all allegations, and Song Byung-ki, Ulsan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, who is at the center of the Blue House election interference allegations, were also consecutively dismissed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The issuance of an arrest warrant, a procedure to secure the suspect’s custody, has long been regarded as an 'interim evaluation' of the prosecution’s investigation. This is because it is the court’s preliminary judgment on the criminal facts before a formal trial that determines guilt or innocence. Since it is based on the premise of proving the criminal charges, if the warrant is issued, the prosecution gains legitimacy and justification for the investigation. Conversely, if the warrant is dismissed, the investigation plan inevitably faces setbacks. If the dismissal reason includes explanations such as "it is difficult to see sufficient evidence for the criminal charges," the prosecution may face public criticism for conducting an excessive investigation.

This warrant result pertains to suspects related to cases registered after the prosecution simultaneously conducted raids on August 27 regarding allegations involving former Minister Cho Kuk’s family and began a forced investigation. Although the prosecution stated that the 'suspension of Yoo Jae-soo’s inspection' and 'Blue House interference in the Ulsan mayoral election' allegations, which surfaced after the 'family corruption,' are separate investigations, suspects in these cases were included under the common denominator of investigations surrounding former Minister Cho Kuk. Among the judges, it was revealed that Judge Myung Jae-kwon, the arrest warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed the most arrest warrants. Judge Myung dismissed warrants for a total of four people, including Cho Kuk’s younger brother, CEO Lee, CEO Choi, and Deputy Mayor Song. This accounts for 80% of the total five dismissals.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.