Arrest Warrant for Jeong Jin-sang Rejected by Court... Prosecution May Accelerate Detention Warrant Request

Seoul Seocho-dong Central District Prosecutors' Office
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It has been reported that the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution from the court before conducting a search and seizure on Jeong Jin-sang, Chief of Political Coordination Office of the Democratic Party of Korea, was dismissed. The plan to secure his custody has been thwarted, and accordingly, legal circles are analyzing that the prosecution's request for a detention warrant may not be expedited.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) simultaneously requested an arrest warrant and a search and seizure warrant for Chief Jeong's forced investigation, but the arrest warrant request was dismissed. Similar to the case of Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, who was previously indicted, the plan was to secure custody through arrest first and then investigate, but the court put a stop to it.

The court's dismissal of the arrest warrant request is analyzed to have considered that Chief Jeong publicly stated his willingness to comply with the prosecution's summons. Earlier, on the 24th of last month, Chief Jeong denied the allegations in a statement sent to reporters, saying, "I have already responded to summonses from the prosecution and police, undergone multiple investigations, and have been subject to a travel ban. If the prosecution summons me for additional investigations, I will respond confidently at any time and undergo the investigation sincerely."

Since the prosecution aimed to arrest Chief Jeong, there is speculation that the request for a detention warrant will be the next step in the investigation process. It is also known that the prosecution is thoroughly preparing in advance to obtain a detention warrant from the court.

The day before, the prosecution secured the past two months of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and parking lot vehicle entry records from the apartment management office where Chief Jeong resides. This appears to be to confirm whether Chief Jeong has been entering and residing there. They may use this as grounds to claim "residence instability," one of the conditions for detention.

It is also reported that the prosecution is investigating signs of evidence tampering from materials obtained at the Democratic Party Representative Secretary's Office in the National Assembly main building the day before. The prosecution detected circumstances where the operating system on the computer used by Chief Jeong was reinstalled.

The prosecution delivered a summons to Chief Jeong's legal counsel. After scheduling coordination, Chief Jeong is expected to appear before the prosecution next week as a suspect.

In a statement sent to reporters on the same day, Chief Jeong said, "The prosecution is fabricating crimes through 'Saminseongho' (a Chinese idiom meaning creating a false rumor by repeated hearsay), but falsehood cannot overcome the truth," and added, "I will respond to the prosecution's investigation confidently and honorably, but I will firmly oppose any unreasonable actions."

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