Rebellion Special Investigation Team, "No Disruption in Foreign Exchange Investigation Despite Drone Commander Warrant Rejection"

[Financial News] The rebellion and foreign exchange special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok stated that although the arrest warrant request for Kim Yong-dae, the Ministry of National Defense's Drone Operations Commander, was rejected, it would not affect the investigation into the foreign exchange allegations surrounding former President Yoon Seok-yeol. To maintain the continuity of the investigation, the special investigation team is summoning former Military Counterintelligence Commander Ye Inhyeong for questioning on the 22nd.
Park Ji-young, Deputy Special Prosecutor for Rebellion, said in a media briefing that afternoon, "The court acknowledges the facts of the crime, and since the time has passed from the emergency arrest of Commander Kim to the warrant review, the necessity for securing his custody has been partially resolved," adding, "The investigation related to the foreign exchange allegations will continue calmly."
The special investigation team urgently arrested Commander Kim on the night of the 18th after he showed signs of psychological instability during the investigation process as a suspect for two days starting from the 17th. It is reported that he expressed his grievances by preparing a will about ten days ago. However, as his health condition improved afterward, the special investigation team judged that the arrest warrant was unnecessary.
A special investigation team official explained, "The court's mention of 'family relations' as a reason for rejecting the warrant seems to be connected to the interpretation of the adequacy of the arrest reason, and since concerns about the suspect's safety have disappeared, it is judged that a normal summoning investigation is possible."
Nam Se-jin, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, rejected the arrest warrant for Commander Kim the previous day (21st), stating, "The suspect generally acknowledges the facts, and considering the collection of major evidence, his attitude during the investigation, career, residence, and family relations, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and adequacy of the arrest."
The special investigation team is particularly focusing on the fact that the court unusually presented 'family relations' as a basis for judgment. The court usually considers the seriousness of the charges, instability of residence, destruction of evidence, and risk of flight when issuing an arrest warrant, but saw that Commander Kim's close relationship with his family reduced the possibility of flight. Furthermore, since the court did not question the facts regarding the 'drone deployment,' the special investigation team maintains that there is no issue with the initial direction of the investigation.
In other words, the interpretation is that this arrest warrant request was more of an emergency measure regarding Commander Kim rather than the 'core target' of the foreign exchange investigation.
Commander Kim is accused of writing false documents (false official document creation and use) to conceal the fact that the Ministry of National Defense's Drone Operations Command deployed drones to Pyongyang in October last year.
According to the office of Boo Seung-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the Drone Command documented in a document related to the proficiency flight training of the reconnaissance drone company that training was conducted with drones No. 74 and 75 on October 15, 2023. However, it is suspected that drone No. 74 crashed in Pyongyang before the actual training date, and only drone No. 75 participated in the actual training. The special investigation team believes that the Drone Command intentionally concealed this.
Commander Kim generally acknowledges the charges but maintains that "it was unrelated to former President Yoon Seok-yeol's orders and was an unavoidable measure for military security." His lawyer emphasized that "North Korea cannot be controlled by procedural regulations alone," and that the drone deployment was also unrelated to the 12.3 martial law.
Meanwhile, in this arrest warrant request, the special investigation team applied only the charges related to 'false official documents' to Commander Kim, not foreign exchange charges. Deputy Special Prosecutor Park stated, "The foreign exchange-related charges were not included in the criminal facts of this warrant request."
On the afternoon of the same day, the special investigation team summoned former Military Counterintelligence Commander Ye Inhyeong for investigation. Former Commander Ye is accused of △ ordering the arrest of politicians such as President Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, and former Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon during the 12.3 martial law, and △ writing false reports to conceal the fact of drone infiltration into Pyongyang.
Deputy Special Prosecutor Park stated, "Usually, the prosecution investigates all necessary parts during a summoning investigation," and "a comprehensive investigation will be conducted if necessary this time as well."

kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-kyu Reporter