PCA Refiles Arrest Warrant for Prosecutor Son Jun-sung over 'Report Solicitation' Allegations... Review Scheduled for Next Month 2 (Comprehensive)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCIC) refiled an arrest warrant on the 30th for Son Joon-sung, the Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office and a key suspect in the 'prosecution complaint solicitation' scandal. This comes 35 days after the warrant filed on the 26th of last month was dismissed by the court.

The HCIC investigation team for the prosecution complaint solicitation case (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Yeo Woon-guk) refiled the pre-arrest warrant for Prosecutor Son in the afternoon of the same day.

Prosecutor Son is accused of instructing prosecutors under his jurisdiction around April last year, when he was serving as the Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to draft complaints and collect supporting evidence against ruling party figures and journalists, and delivering the complaints to Kim Woong, then a candidate for the United Future Party in the general election (currently a member of the People Power Party).

The charges applied by the HCIC against Prosecutor Son include abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, official secrets leakage, violations of the Personal Information Protection Act, the Electronic Criminal Procedure Act, and the Public Official Election Act.

The pre-arrest detention hearing for Prosecutor Son will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the 2nd of next month at the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Seo Bo-min, who is in charge of warrants.

Previously, the HCIC filed an arrest warrant on the 26th of last month, but the court dismissed it, stating that "at this stage, the necessity and appropriateness of detention are insufficient." Prior to that, on the 20th, the HCIC also requested an arrest warrant, which was not issued.

The HCIC summoned Prosecutor Son twice on the 2nd and 10th for questioning but reportedly failed to secure statements clarifying the substance of the case. On the 3rd, Representative Kim Woong was also summoned as a suspect and questioned, but no statements confirming involvement in the case were obtained.

The HCIC effectively concluded its compulsory investigation of Prosecutor Son by conducting searches on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department on the 5th and the Investigation Information Office on the 15th.

There were some controversies during the additional investigation process. During the search on the 5th, the Inspection Department seized digital forensic data from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office spokesperson's shared phone on a voluntary submission basis, sparking debate over 'outsourced inspection.'

During the search on the 15th, a conflict arose when Prosecutor Son's defense counsel claimed that the timing of the notification to the defense and the execution of the warrant violated the Criminal Procedure Act.

Prosecutor Son's side filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, alleging human rights violations due to the HCIC's investigation, and requested the exclusion of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Yeo Woon-guk, who was suspected of improper contact with ruling party figures, from the investigation.

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