Prosecution Office Rejects Arrest Warrant Request for Kang Ho-dong, Chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) ... “Key Allegations Not Sufficiently Substantiated”

[Financial News] Kang Ho-dong, chairman of the NACF, has avoided detention amid allegations that he received valuables worth in the 100-million-won range. The Prosecution Office determined that the key allegations had not been substantiated enough to warrant seeking an arrest warrant.
The Seoul Central District Prosecution Office’s Non-referral Review Division 1, led by Senior Prosecutor Lee Si-jeon, said it rejected arrest warrant applications for Chairman Kang and A, the head of a partner company who provided the money. The applications had been submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and the decision was announced on the afternoon of the 6th, three days after police applied for the warrants on the 3rd.
The Prosecution Office said, “After carefully reviewing the evidence collected by police and the suspects’ statements in their defense, confirmed through interviews with the suspects before the warrant applications, among other things, it is difficult to conclude that the key allegations against the suspects have been sufficiently substantiated to warrant seeking arrest warrants.” Before deciding whether to seek the warrants, the Prosecution Office interviewed the suspects in person and took into account the explanations given by their side, as confirmed in those interviews, in its reasons for rejecting the applications.
It also found that detention was not necessary. The Prosecution Office explained, “Given the course of the investigation, which has lasted at least 18 months, and the suspects’ attendance, it is difficult to find detention necessary and proportionate at this stage.” It concluded that there was no reason to take the suspects into custody, noting that the investigation had continued for a long time and that they had attended questioning.
Kang is suspected of receiving valuables totaling more than 100 million won on two occasions from the head of a services contractor that did business with NACF affiliates, in exchange for business favors, around the time of the January 2024 election for the 25th NACF chairman. A was also included in the warrant applications as the person who handed over the valuables.
Kang is also being investigated over allegations that he received large condolence payments from NACF cooperative heads and current and former executives at his mother-in-law’s funeral in May last year. Police are also investigating allegations that he used NACF public funds for personal purposes. Since last year, police have summoned Kang several times for questioning as a suspect.
A restructuring of the criminal justice system on the 2nd of last month left only prosecutors at the Prosecution Office with the authority to seek arrest warrants. Police cannot request a warrant directly and must apply to the Prosecution Office. In this case, police applied for a warrant after determining that Kang needed to be taken into custody, but the Prosecution Office decided not to seek one from the court. No court hearing on whether to issue the warrant was held.
The police investigation is continuing. The Prosecution Office’s rejection of the arrest warrant request does not mean it found there was no basis for the allegations. It said only that the allegations had not been substantiated to the level required for detention at this stage. Police may obtain additional evidence and apply for a warrant again, but since the Prosecution Office cited insufficient substantiation, the same result could follow if there is no new evidence.
[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter