The Corruption Investigation Office Refiles Arrest Warrant for Son Jun-sung over 'Alleged Report Solicitation'... Review Scheduled for Next Month 2 (Comprehensive Report 2)

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

[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 'report solicitation' allegations. This comes 35 days after the warrant applied for on the 26th of last month was dismissed by the court.

The HCIC's investigation team for the report solicitation allegations (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 affiliated prosecutors 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.

In response, Prosecutor Son's side issued a statement saying, "The HCIC refiled the warrant despite no significant change in circumstances after the warrant was dismissed, following renewed accusations from ruling party lawmakers," and added, "This clearly shows that the investigation is politically motivated."

They further stated, "After filing a quasi-appeal against the HCIC's search and seizure procedures, the HCIC immediately applied for a warrant, attempting to enforce retaliatory pretrial detention beyond the erosion of defense rights, which causes us judicial fear."

Prosecutor Son's side also explained that during negotiations for the third appearance date, they expressed their intention to appear around December 2nd to the HCIC, and the HCIC sent a text message indicating that they were reviewing this.

Previously, the HCIC applied for an arrest warrant on the 26th of last month, but the court dismissed it, stating, "At this stage, there is insufficient necessity and reasonableness for detention." Prior to that, on the 20th, the HCIC also applied for 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, lawmaker 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 disturbances during the additional investigation process. During the search on the 5th, controversy arose over 'subcontracted inspection' as the Inspection Department seized digital forensic data from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office spokesperson's shared phone in the form of voluntary submission.

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

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

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