'Gobal Saju' Son Junsung's Warrant Review Ends After 2 Hours 30 Minutes, Responds to Reporters' Questions with "..."

Son Joon-sung, former Investigation and Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (currently Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office), a key figure in the 'whistleblower solicitation' allegation during former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's tenure, is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review) of Son Junsung, former Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (currently Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office), a key figure in the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution 'report solicitation' allegations, ended after about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

On the afternoon of the 26th, former Officer Son finished his warrant review hearing held from 10:30 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Sechang, who is in charge of warrants, and left the courthouse. He did not respond to reporters' questions such as "What points did you mainly clarify?", "Do you think there is a reason for detention?", and "Did you deliberately delay your appearance?"

After hearing opinions from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and former Officer Son's side, Judge Lee is expected to decide on detention as early as late tonight after reviewing the records. Former Officer Son will wait for the warrant issuance decision at Seoul Detention Center.

If the court issues the warrant, the CIO investigation is expected to accelerate. The summons investigation timing for another key suspect, Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, will also be brought forward, and the CIO's investigation will likely focus on confirming whether former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was involved.

On the other hand, if the warrant is dismissed, criticism of the CIO's investigative capabilities is expected to pour in, and the entire investigation process may face significant setbacks.

Earlier, the CIO filed a pre-arrest warrant request for former Officer Son at the Seoul Central District Court over the past weekend. A CIO official explained the reason for the request, saying, "We repeatedly requested his appearance to cooperate with the investigation, but he showed an uncooperative attitude by continuously delaying his appearance for reasons difficult to accept." This is the first time since the CIO's launch in January this year that it has sought to secure the suspect's custody during an investigation.

Meanwhile, former Officer Son's side is pointing out the illegality of the summons process and forced investigation procedures. His lawyer stated the day before, "(The CIO prosecutor) sent a de facto threatening message mentioning forced investigation and political considerations related to the presidential primary schedule," adding, "This infringes on the suspect's constitutional and criminal procedure law rights to defense, who clearly expressed willingness to appear." Former Officer Son also said upon appearing at the court that "I will explain in detail to the judge the unfairness of the warrant request."

Former Officer Son is suspected of instructing prosecutors and investigators to draft complaints and collect supporting materials against ruling party figures while serving as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Officer in April last year, and delivering the complaints to Kim Woong (then a candidate for the United Future Party in the general election). The CIO applied charges against former Officer Son including abuse of authority, obstruction of official duties, disclosure of official secrets, election interference, violation of the Public Official Election Act, and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.

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