South Korean court rejects warrant for ex-prosecutor general
· UPIJuly 17 (Asia Today) -- A South Korean court Thursday rejected an arrest warrant for former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung over allegations that he participated in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed declaration of martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court said prosecutors had not sufficiently demonstrated that Shim was likely to destroy evidence.
The court also said the progress of the investigation and related court proceedings made it difficult to conclude that he posed a flight risk.
The court separately rejected an arrest warrant for Jeon Moo-gon, a former head of the policy planning division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
The court said Jeon's arguments, the progress of the investigation and the evidence collected did not indicate that he was likely to flee or destroy evidence.
Shim and Jeon are accused of reviewing plans to dispatch prosecutors to a joint martial law investigation headquarters under instructions from then-Justice Minister Park Sung-jae on Dec. 3, 2024.
Investigators also suspect they discussed how to handle crimes that would fall under military court jurisdiction after the martial law declaration.
They are further accused of participating in the preparation of a document concerning court jurisdiction under martial law.
The second special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young requested arrest warrants for Shim and Jeon on Tuesday on allegations of participating in an insurrection and abusing their authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.
The special counsel team's failure to secure their detention could complicate its investigation into allegations that senior prosecution officials participated in the martial law attempt.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260716010006339