Court Rejects Arrest Warrant for Song Cheol-ho, Former Ulsan Mayor's Campaign Headquarters Chief

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The arrest warrant for Kim Mo (65), who is accused of accepting bribes while serving as the head of the election countermeasures headquarters for Song Cheol-ho, mayor of Ulsan, during the 2018 local elections, was dismissed on the 29th. The warrant for Jang Mo (62), a local businessman accused of giving the bribe to Kim, was also dismissed.

Choi Chang-hoon, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) at 3 p.m. the previous day for Kim, who is a standing advisor of the Democratic Party Ulsan City Party, and Jang, the head of a used car dealership in Ulsan, and dismissed all arrest warrants requested by the prosecution.

Judge Choi stated, "Based on the evidence lawfully collected, it is insufficient to conclude that the suspect facts are proven enough to justify detention."

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun), which is investigating allegations of election interference in the Ulsan mayoral race, had issued an arrest warrant and detained Kim at around 5:30 p.m. on the 25th after Kim and others repeatedly failed to appear for summons. After two days of investigation, they requested an arrest warrant.

According to the prosecution, Kim is accused of receiving 20 million won before the 2018 local elections and 30 million won last month from Jang, who requested favors related to the used car sales business.

Kim participated in the 'Gongeoptap Planning Committee' formed by Song’s camp personnel in August 2017 to prepare for the local elections and served as the head of the election countermeasures headquarters during the election.

The prosecution reportedly stated in the arrest warrant that Jang delivered 20 million won in cash inside a golf ball box before the local elections, and that Mayor Song was present when the money was exchanged.

However, the prosecution’s plan to expand the investigation to include allegations of bribery involving Mayor Song by securing Kim’s custody has been halted. The prosecution had not ruled out the possibility that the money Kim received was used as election funds for Mayor Song.

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