Arrest warrants for two campaign aides represented by Hong Joon-pyo himself rejected, putting the brakes on police probe

[Financial News] Two key figures accused of illegally spending campaign funds for former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo during the People Power Party’s 2021 presidential primary have had their arrest warrants rejected by a court. Hong personally stepped in as their defense counsel, sharply pointing out flaws in the police investigation and preventing their detention.
Son Bong-gi, the presiding judge handling warrants at Daegu District Court, on the 27th rejected arrest warrants for both Kim (full name withheld), the accounting chief for Hong’s campaign at the time, and Park (full name withheld), head of an election services company. They are accused of violating the Political Funds Act.
Judge Son said in explaining the decision: “Based solely on the materials submitted by investigators, it is difficult to conclude that there is a risk of flight or destruction of evidence.” He added, “Compulsory measures in an investigation are permitted only to the minimum extent necessary. Considering, among other things, the need to ensure suspects’ effective right to a defense, it is difficult to conclude that the grounds for and necessity of detention have been sufficiently substantiated.”
They are accused of inflating election expenses to illegally spend political funds during the 2021 presidential primary and submitting false accounting reports to the National Election Commission. The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency had been investigating after separately uncovering indications of their improper spending of campaign funds while probing allegations that Myeong Tae-gyun’s polling costs had been paid on someone else’s behalf. Police sought the warrants on suspicion that the pair siphoned off about 130 million won by fabricating sham transactions under pretexts such as video production.
Hong, however, attended the warrant hearing that day as their defense counsel and flatly denied the allegations. After the hearing, he told reporters, “The five or six expense items the police grouped together as sham transactions were all real transactions involving tangible goods.” He said he had submitted counterevidence to the court during the hearing to prove this.
Hong went on to sharply criticize the investigative authorities, saying, “When I looked at the materials for the arrest warrant application, they had pieced them together so the prosecutor couldn’t reject it.” The rejection of the warrants is expected to put some brakes on police efforts going forward as they pursue separate investigations related to Myeong Tae-gyun, including the allegation in question.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter