Key Figure Kang Raegu's Warrant Dismissed in 'Democratic Party Money Envelope Allegation'... Prosecution "Not Convinced"

The arrest warrant for Kang Raegu, a key suspect in the Democratic Party's cash envelope scandal and Standing Auditor of the Korea Water Resources Corporation (58), was dismissed.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, Yoon Jaenam, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court who conducted the warrant hearing for Kang the previous day, dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution on charges of violation of the Political Parties Act and bribery, stating that it was difficult to see grounds for detention such as concerns of evidence tampering or flight risk.

Kang Rae-gu, Standing Auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st for a detention hearing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Judge Yoon stated the reasons for dismissal as follows: "Based on the materials submitted so far, ▲ it is difficult to conclude that the suspect directly attempted to tamper with evidence or persuaded other related parties to tamper with evidence or give false statements after the search and seizure of the suspect, ▲ it is also difficult to definitively say that the suspect destroyed evidence to an extent that would affect the investigation or is expected to destroy evidence in the future regarding the main evidence secured so far and the evidence expected to be collected, ▲ considering that the suspect has attended previous summonses and taking into account the suspect’s residence and status, it is difficult to see a flight risk, ▲ evidence for the suspect’s main charges has been partially collected, and considering the parts that still need to be clarified, detaining the suspect at this stage would excessively restrict the suspect’s right to defense. Taking all these into account, it is difficult to find grounds for detaining the suspect at this stage."

Immediately after the court dismissed the warrant, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating the Democratic Party cash envelope scandal, issued a statement saying, "There is evidence that the suspect, who played a leading role throughout the entire process of distributing money, attempted to coordinate and persuade accomplices to conceal the crime," and added, "Given that actual evidence tampering among accomplices has occurred and the suspect denies most charges, the concern for evidence tampering is clearly recognized. Therefore, we cannot accept the court’s decision and reasoning for dismissing the arrest warrant."

After the arrest warrant was dismissed, Kang left the Seoul Detention Center and said, "I am grateful to the court for making a wise judgment."

However, he did not respond to questions from waiting reporters such as whether former Representative Song knew about the cash envelope delivery or whether 20 Democratic Party lawmakers were involved.

Kang is accused of conspiring with Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gwansuk and former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jeonggeun (who has been indicted and detained) from March to May 2021 to distribute a total of 94 million won to ensure the election of former Democratic Party leader Song Younggil at the party convention, violating the Political Parties Act. He is also accused of receiving 3 million won from businessman Park in September 2020 under the pretext of a delivery request for equipment at a power plant under the Water Resources Corporation, on charges of bribery.

Kang said upon attending the warrant hearing the previous morning, "There will be a day when I will speak."

With the court dismissing the first arrest warrant requested by the prosecution regarding the Democratic Party cash envelope scandal, the prosecution’s investigation plan is inevitably facing setbacks. However, since the court did not cite "lack of evidence to prove the crime" as a reason for dismissing Kang’s arrest warrant, it is highly likely that the prosecution will conduct supplementary investigations into evidence tampering involving Kang and other suspects related to this case and reapply for an arrest warrant.

A prosecution official stated, "We plan to continue the investigation swiftly and strictly, including reviewing the reapplication of the warrant through supplementary investigations."

Meanwhile, former Representative Song, who is currently in Paris, France as a visiting research professor, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Korean time) to express his position on this case. Considering the seriousness of the matter and the atmosphere within the Democratic Party, political circles widely expect that Song will return to Korea early after the press conference.

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