Lee Jin-sook, former Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, who was arrested on charges of violating the National Public Officials Act and the Public Official Election Act, speaks to reporters as she is escorted to the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on the 2nd. Yonhap News.

The decision on whether to release Lee Jin-sook, former Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, who was arrested by the police, will be made as early as late afternoon on the 4th.

The Seoul Southern District Court will hold a review of the arrest warrant for the former chairperson at 3 p.m. on the same day.

Previously, the Southern District Court had issued an arrest warrant requested by the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul.

The review of the arrest warrant is a system that allows a court to review a release request when the arrest by an investigative agency is deemed unfair.

The court reviews whether the arrest of the suspect is lawful and whether the continued detention is necessary.

The judge who issued the arrest warrant cannot participate in the hearing for the review of the arrest warrant.

Yeongdeungpo Police Station arrested the former chairperson near her residence at around 4 p.m. on the 2nd.

The police stated that they executed the arrest warrant, which was lawfully issued by the court, on the grounds that Ms. Lee had not responded to six requests for appearance.

Ms. Lee is protesting, claiming she was arrested despite submitting a reason for non-appearance stating she could not attend an investigation due to the National Assembly's filibuster (unlimited debate) schedule, calling it an abuse of power.

The court's decision regarding the review of the arrest warrant will be made within 24 hours after the termination of the hearing.

The detention period for the former chairperson expires around 4 p.m. on the same day. A suspect arrested must have an arrest warrant requested within 48 hours or be released.

However, the time spent in the hearing process, from the time investigative documents and evidence are received for the review of the arrest warrant to the time the materials are returned, is excluded from the calculation of the deadline.

As the timing of the review of the arrest warrant is almost coinciding with the detention deadline (48 hours), it is possible that the police will separately decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant after the review. If an arrest warrant is requested through the prosecution, the suspect will then undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant examination) at the court to determine whether to grant the arrest warrant.

Ms. Lee is accused of making politically biased remarks or engaging in pre-election campaigning through conservative YouTube channels and her own Facebook accounts in September-October last year and March-April this year, respectively (violations of the Public Official Election Act and the National Public Officials Act).

Yonhap News