Prosecutors Refile Arrest Warrant for Oh Keo-don on Charges of Forcible Sexual Assault of Staff

In April, then Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don held a press conference at Busan City Hall and announced his intention to resign from the mayoral position. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] On the 16th, the prosecution refiled a pre-arrest warrant against former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, who is accused of forcibly molesting an employee.

The Women's and Children's Crime Investigation Division of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Eun-mi) announced that they filed a pre-arrest warrant against former Mayor Oh on charges including forcible molestation.

Former Mayor Oh is accused of forcibly molesting a female employee in his office at Busan City Hall in early April.

The prosecution is understood to have summoned and investigated former Mayor Oh on the 14th, one day before filing the pre-arrest warrant.

Previously, the prosecution had filed an arrest warrant against former Mayor Oh during the police investigation stage in June, but the court dismissed it.

At that time, the court stated the dismissal reason, saying, "Considering the place and time of the crime, its content, and the relationship with the victim, the case is serious," but "there is no concern of evidence tampering, and considering the stable residence and advanced age, it is difficult to recognize the necessity of detention."

Since then, the prosecution received the case from the police in August and has been conducting supplementary investigations for about three months. In November, they also conducted a search and seizure at Busan City Hall.

Regarding former Mayor Oh's resignation on the 23rd, after the April 15 general election, following the alleged forcible molestation of an employee, it is known that the prosecution re-investigated suspicions of coordinating the timing of his resignation to influence the election (violation of the Public Official Election Act) and whether he abused his authority to cover up the incident.

The pretrial detention hearing for former Mayor Oh is scheduled to be held on the morning of the 18th at the Busan District Court.

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