Prosecution Blocks Warrant for Kim Byung-gi... Police to Decide Whether to Reapply After Supplementary Investigation

[Financial News] The prosecution rejected the arrest warrant requested by the police for independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi and requested a supplementary investigation. The police plan to review the prosecution's requests, launch a supplementary investigation, and then decide whether to reapply for an arrest warrant.
According to the prosecution and police on the 11th, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested a supplementary investigation instead of asking the court to issue a pre-arrest detention warrant for Kim, which had been requested by the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit. This came four days after the police applied for the warrant on the 7th on charges including violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) and obstruction of business.
The prosecution determined that the justification for the necessity of detention was insufficient, considering that Kim had responded to seven summonses for questioning and that approximately five months had passed between the final questioning on April 10 and the application for an arrest warrant. It also explained that some of the charges required additional evidence.
The police stated, "We plan to conduct a supplementary investigation after reviewing the records," adding, "We will decide whether to reapply for a warrant after the supplementary investigation."
The warrant requested by the police covered five of the 13 allegations involving Kim. The allegations that his second son was solicited for employment and transfer admission to Soongsil University involved charges under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, while the allegation that he condoned independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo's receipt of 100 million won involved obstruction of business charges. The allegations concerning the receipt of sponsorship money from Shilla Leisure and hotel accommodation vouchers from Korean Air reportedly involved bribery charges, while the allegation concerning the misuse of business promotion expenses from the Dongjak District Council involved occupational breach of trust.
After launching an investigation following a complaint by a civic group last September, the police raided Kim's home and office at the National Assembly building and questioned him as a suspect seven times through last April. They subsequently applied for an arrest warrant, stating that "the charges had been substantiated by objective evidence and there was a risk of evidence destruction," but the application did not clear the prosecution.
Within and outside the police, there is speculation that the case may be referred without detention rather than having a warrant reapplied for after the supplementary investigation. Since a considerable amount of time has passed since the final questioning and the prosecution has raised questions about the need for detention, any renewed attempt to secure custody would require the police to more clearly substantiate additional evidence and the risk of evidence destruction.
In the earlier case involving HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the police applied for an arrest warrant but were asked by the prosecution to conduct a supplementary investigation, after which they referred the case without detention. There is also speculation that Kim's case could be concluded with a referral without detention rather than a renewed warrant application, depending on the results of the supplementary investigation.


[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter