Supreme Court: Search Warrants Executed by Showing Only the Cover Page Are Illegal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Supreme Court has ruled that if only the cover of a search warrant was shown during a search and seizure process without showing the contents of the warrant, the search and seizure is illegal.

The Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Min Yoo-sook) announced on the 17th that it overturned the lower court's decision, which had deemed the seizure lawful, in the case where Mr. A filed a rehearing petition requesting the return of seized items such as his mobile phone obtained through an illegal seizure, and remanded the case to the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court.

The court stated, "Even though the person subject to seizure requested a specific confirmation of the search warrant at the time of seizure, if the investigator did not allow the person to verify the contents, it cannot be considered that a lawful presentation of the warrant as prescribed by the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act was made."

During the process where Mr. A's mobile phone and other items were seized by the investigative agency, he requested to see the contents of the warrant, but the investigator only showed the cover of the warrant and did not show the contents, so he could not confirm the specific details of the warrant.

Mr. A filed a quasi-objection to the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court, claiming the seizure was illegal, but the court dismissed his quasi-objection.

The reason was that later, his lawyer participated in the investigation and confirmed the contents of the warrant.

Mr. A then filed a rehearing petition to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court's judgment.

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