Search Warrant for Seizure of Late Park Won-soon's Cell Phone in Sexual Harassment Aiding Suspicion Denied Again

On the 10th, the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was prepared as the resting place for the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul. / Provided by Seoul City

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The search warrant for the seizure of the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor's mobile phone, which the police applied for to investigate allegations that his close aides aided and abetted his sexual harassment, was once again rejected by the court.

According to the police on the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which is investigating this case, applied for a search warrant for Park's mobile phone on the 11th of this month to investigate the charge of aiding and abetting sexual harassment, but the court rejected it the day before. The court reportedly dismissed the warrant on the grounds of "insufficient evidence to prove relevance to the items to be seized."

The police had previously applied for a search warrant for Park's work mobile phone and other devices in July to investigate allegations that the secretariat and others tolerated and aided his sexual harassment, but the court rejected it. At that time, the court also dismissed the warrant due to insufficient evidence regarding the facts of the crime and the relevance to the items to be seized.

After the second warrant was rejected, the police explained, "We have investigated more than 20 witnesses and 5 accused persons related to the sexual harassment aiding and abetting accusation case so far," and "We applied for the warrant to verify the truthfulness of their statements."

After the court dismissed the quasi-appeal filed by Park's bereaved family requesting the suspension of digital forensics on the mobile phone, the police began coordinating dates for forensics with the family and the Seoul city authorities.

The mobile phone in question was found among the belongings with Park's body and is currently stored in the police forensic department. However, this forensic examination is limited to confirming the circumstances of Park's death, so an additional search warrant is required to investigate the charge of aiding and abetting sexual harassment.

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