Arrest Warrants for Hwang Kyo-ahn and Park Sung-jae Both Dismissed: Will the Special Prosecutor's Investigation Be Impacted?

[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor's Team for Insurrection, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, saw its requests for arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae dismissed.
On the 14th, Jungho Park, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, rejected the arrest warrant for Hwang Kyo-ahn, which had been requested by the special prosecutor investigating allegations of insurrection and treason related to the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis.
The court explained its decision by stating, "There is insufficient necessity for detention, and the grounds for arrest, such as flight risk or evidence tampering, have not been adequately demonstrated. It appears that a significant portion of the objective facts has already been substantiated by evidence."
The court held a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review) for Hwang Kyo-ahn at 4 p.m. the previous day. During a briefing, the special prosecutor's team noted, "Former Prime Minister Hwang has extensive experience as a prosecutor and, during his tenure as Minister of Justice, oversaw cases related to insurrection. Given his background as a ruling party leader, Minister of Justice, and Prime Minister, his words and actions carry far greater social influence than those of ordinary citizens. Taking all these factors into account, the investigation into the alleged crime is underway."
Hwang Kyo-ahn is accused of inciting insurrection by posting on his social media on December 3 last year, the day martial law was declared, statements such as "We must eradicate the pro-North Korean Juche faction and those involved in election fraud," and "Arrest National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. Also arrest Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, who is directly obstructing the President's actions."
On the same day, the court also dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the special prosecutor for Park Sung-jae on charges of involvement in key insurrection duties and abuse of authority. This marks the second time an arrest warrant for Park has been rejected, following a previous dismissal on October 15.
Jungho Park, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, stated, "Even after considering the additional criminal charges and newly collected evidence since the previous dismissal, there remains considerable room for dispute regarding the allegations. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to allow the accused to defend himself while not in custody." The court further explained, "Given the evidence secured so far, the progress of the investigation, and the defendant's fixed residence, family ties, and career, there is little concern about evidence destruction or flight."
gaa1003@fnnews.com An Ga-eul Reporter