Park Cha-hoon, Saemaeul Geumgo Chairman, 'At Risk of Detention'... "There Is a Misunderstanding"

Prosecution Reissues Warrant Request After 7 Days

Park Cha-hoon, chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK), who is suspected of accepting bribes during fund investments and project financing (PF) loans, has once again denied the allegations.

Park Cha-hoon, Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea, is entering the Seoul Eastern District Court on the afternoon of the 17th to attend a pre-trial detention hearing.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 17th, Park appeared at the Seoul Eastern District Court for a pre-arrest detention hearing. When asked, "What do you think about the prosecution's reapplication for an arrest warrant?" he replied, "I will explain fully once inside." When asked if he had anything more to say, he responded, "There are parts that are misunderstood." Park did not answer questions such as whether he admitted to receiving a 100 million won bribe in exchange for fund investments or acknowledged receiving a golden seal and several tens of millions of won.

The prosecution filed an arrest warrant against Park the day before on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. This came seven days after the first warrant was dismissed. A prosecution official explained, "The matter is serious and there is a high risk of evidence destruction. Considering fairness with other cases, we reapplied for the arrest warrant."

The prosecution re-investigated Park on the 14th after summoning him. They believe that former Ice Tum Partners CEO Yoo Young-seok delivered bribes to Park through Ryu Hyuk, CEO of NACUFOK Credit Guarantee. On the 3rd, the prosecution detected signs of Park accepting bribes and summoned him as a suspect for questioning. On the 4th, they filed an arrest warrant on bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The court dismissed the warrant on the 8th, stating that "protection of the right to defense is necessary."

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