Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Reports Request for Arrest Warrants of Those Related to ‘Wolseong Unit 1’... Under Review by Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division

Yoon Seok-yeol Ordered Strengthening of Charges Before Prosecutor General's Suspension

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the case related to the ‘Wolseong Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant,’ has reported plans to request pre-arrest warrants for those involved in the case, and it has been confirmed that the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is currently reviewing this.

It is known that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was briefed on this matter before being suspended from duty on the 24th and instructed to strengthen the charges.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office reported to Prosecutor General Yoon through the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division in mid-month that it was necessary to request pre-arrest warrants for officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, among others.

The charge applied by the investigation team for the warrant is obstruction of audit under the Board of Audit and Inspection Act. Article 51 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act stipulates that obstructing an audit is punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

Immediately after receiving the report, Prosecutor General Yoon is said to have directly called Lee Doo-bong, head of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, and instructed him to supplement additional charges such as evidence tampering in addition to obstruction of audit.

Accordingly, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office supplemented the investigation details and reported again, but with Prosecutor General Yoon’s suspension from duty, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division is reviewing it.

The day before his suspension from duty, on the 23rd, Prosecutor General Yoon revealed to his aides that he had instructed the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office to investigate and said it would take time until the investigation was supplemented and reported again. However, it is understood that the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office reported supplementary opinions with 2 to 3 additional charges to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 24th.

Some speculate that Shin Sung-sik, head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Anti-Corruption Division, who has shown a negative attitude toward requesting arrest warrants and has continuously demanded warrant supplementation, may be delaying approval.

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