Gwangyang Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok's Arrest Warrant 'Dismissed'

Court: "No Evidence Tampering, Difficult to Justify Detention"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Jeong Hyun-bok, mayor of Gwangyang City, who is under suspicion of real estate speculation and preferential hiring, has avoided detention.

Hong Eun-pyo, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Court, held a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) for Mayor Jeong on the day and dismissed the arrest warrant.

The court stated the reason for dismissal: "It is necessary to guarantee the defendant's right to defense, and considering the evidence secured regarding the alleged crimes for which the warrant was requested, the progress of the investigation, and the nature of the crimes, it is difficult to see a risk of evidence destruction, so it is hard to recognize the appropriateness and necessity of detaining the defendant."

Mayor Jeong arrived at the court earlier than scheduled from his home to attend the suspect interrogation at 11 a.m. that day and was questioned for about 70 minutes, slightly past lunchtime.

Mayor Jeong is suspected of a conflict of interest as roads were constructed on his land and part of the land owned by his son, resulting in compensation higher than the official land price. Judicial authorities believe Mayor Jeong was aware of internal information such as road construction in advance but did not take measures to prevent conflicts of interest.

Mayor Jeong is also accused of improperly hiring relatives of close aides as security guards and public officials. It is reported that Mayor Jeong denied most of the allegations.

In early May, Mayor Jeong collapsed while on duty and delayed police investigations as he was receiving treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphoma at a large hospital in Seoul.

The police, who began the investigation in March, conducted searches of Mayor Jeong’s residence and Gwangyang City Hall and carried out a seven-month investigation.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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