Police on Prosecutors' Rejection of Arrest Warrant for Bang Si-hyuk: "They May Have a Different View, but We Did Our Best"

[Financial News] Police said they believe they did their best after prosecutors rejected a renewed arrest warrant request for Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, adding that "the prosecutors and we may have different views."
At a regular press briefing on the 18th, Park Jeong-bo, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said, "We plan to analyze the reasons prosecutors declined to file the warrant and decide the future direction of the investigation."
On the 6th, the Joint Investigation Division for Financial and Securities Crimes at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, led by Shin Dong-hwan, rejected the arrest warrant request submitted by the Financial Crime Investigation Unit, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, saying that "the requested supplementary investigation had not been carried out." Prosecutors had also rejected a warrant request for Bang last month on the 24th.
In response, Park said, "We will respect the prosecutors' opinion and review the matter again in overall terms," adding, "We will also comprehensively examine and decide whether to reapply for an arrest warrant."
Asked whether the repeated warrant rejections and supplementary investigation requests reflected growing tension with prosecutors, he cautioned against overinterpreting the situation. "Isn't the prosecution an organization created to do that kind of supplementary investigation? Finding what the police missed is the prosecution's job," he said.
He added, "I understand that prosecutors faithfully carry out their duties, and police also faithfully carry out their duties from the police's perspective."
He also took a cautious stance on criticism that police investigations into Kim Byung-gi, an independent lawmaker and former member of the Democratic Party of Korea, have been delayed despite various allegations of misconduct.
Park explained, "For some of the charges, the investigation has progressed substantially, and we are conducting supplementary inquiries while reviewing the legal issues," adding, "We are also carrying out the necessary investigation into the remaining allegations."
He continued, "I previously mentioned partial transfer of the case, but the investigation must be completed before it can be transferred," and added, "We plan to organize everything once the investigation is finished."


425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter