Yoon Seok-yeol's Wife's Company Warrant Dismissal, Former Judge Kim Yoon-woo Says "Hard to Understand"

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General, is responding to a lawmaker's question during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held on the 22nd of last month at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Former judge and attorney Kim Yoon-woo described the court's complete dismissal of the search warrant related to the company of Kim Gun-hee, wife of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, as "unusual."

On the 12th, on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Attorney Kim said, "Usually, search warrants are partially dismissed by limiting the target or location. Occasionally, partial dismissals occur when there is a necessity for the search, such as 'if we don't search now, the evidence will be lost.' However, a complete dismissal is rare," he explained.

Attorney Kim also questioned the court's stated reason for dismissal, which cited "the possibility of voluntary submission of key evidence and significant infringement of legal interests if the warrant is executed." He said, "In cases like complaints involving fraud, embezzlement, or breach of trust, disputes arise on both sides, so that can be understood. But this is a corruption case, so I don't understand."

He continued, "When a third party holds evidence, and a search is conducted at that third party's office, since that person is also liable for evidence tampering, they usually talk about voluntary submission first. If they refuse, then a search warrant can be obtained, but because of the risk of evidence tampering, they don't destroy evidence recklessly. In such cases, they ask if the evidence will be submitted voluntarily first and then obtain a search warrant if necessary. However, in the case of the suspect themselves or a witness who may become a suspect, if you do that, they might destroy their own evidence first," he explained. Given the high risk of evidence tampering in this case, he pointed out that it is difficult to accept the court's reason for dismissing the warrant.

He added, "In corruption cases, evidence can disappear once the timing passes, so to my knowledge, dismissals for such reasons are rare. It was somewhat unexpected," and said, "The circumstances of this case and the dismissal reasons do not align well, so I find it difficult to understand."

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