Former Senior Prosecutors Kim Sun-kyu and Song Chang-jin leaving the court. Yonhap News

The court has rejected the arrest warrants sought for Kim Sun-kyu and Song Chang-jin, former senior prosecutors at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), who are accused of obstructing the investigation into the death of Private First Class Chae.

Nam Se-jin, a judge presiding over arrest warrant reviews at the Seoul Central District Court, stated on the 17th after a hearing for the suspects, "Given that there is room for factual and legal disputes regarding the charges, the suspects need to fully exercise their right to defense while remaining at liberty." Consequently, the court dismissed the arrest warrants requested by the special prosecution team for the death of Private First Class Chae.

The court further determined that it would be difficult to consider that the suspects have any intention of destroying evidence, taking into account their professions, the progress of the investigation, and their attendance. Essentially, the court found that most of the conditions for investigative detention were not met.

Kim, who served as acting CIO director in the first half of last year, is accused of obstructing the investigation by instructing investigators not to summon individuals involved in the case of alleged external pressure regarding the investigation into Private First Class Chae's death, in the lead-up to the April 10th general election, on charges of abuse of power.

The special prosecution team concluded that Kim unduly influenced the investigation based on external circumstances, such as rushing the investigation to create grounds for exercising a veto power before the bill for the special prosecutor for Private First Class Chae's death passed the plenary session.

Song, who served as deputy director of the CIO last year, is accused of abuse of power for ordering the lifting of the travel ban on former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, a key suspect, and obstructing the request for a search and seizure warrant against former President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The special prosecution team's arrest warrant submission included testimony from a CIO official stating that Song ordered the lifting of the travel ban on Lee when he was appointed ambassador to Australia in March of last year.

It is also reported that the special prosecution team obtained testimony from related individuals indicating that Song opposed the forced investigation at a meeting chaired by CIO Director Oh Dong-woon in June of last year, stating, "I cannot approve the search and seizure warrant for (former President Yoon). If I am excluded from the approval line, I will resign."

Song is also facing charges of perjury under the National Assembly Testimony and Inspection Act.

In July of last year, he testified before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, stating, "All requests for telecommunication records warrants against former President Yoon were rejected," and "I was not aware that former Black Pearl Investment CEO Lee Jong-ho was involved in the alleged external pressure case."

In response, the special prosecution team argued that as Song, in his capacity as acting deputy director of the CIO, was in a position to receive reports on the investigation's progress, it was impossible for him not to know that a warrant against former President Yoon had been issued and that former CEO Lee was involved in allegations of lobbying for his own benefit. Therefore, they added the charge of perjury.

Song Chang-jin, former senior prosecutor, after his warrant hearing. Yonhap News

The two sides engaged in a fierce debate for over two hours during the warrant hearing.

Kim is reported to have fully denied the charges, claiming that he did not instruct investigators not to summon individuals during the general election period and that the testimony obtained by the special prosecution team was distorted and contaminated.

Song also refuted the special prosecution team's claims point by point.

He argued that while he did raise concerns about the travel ban being maintained during discussions with the investigative team when he was at the CIO, the investigative team ultimately recommended to the Ministry of Justice that the travel ban be maintained, thus preventing obstruction of the investigation.

Regarding the allegations of obstructing the request for a search and seizure warrant against former President Yoon Suk-yeol, he countered, "It was meant to be a cautious review, given that three warrant requests had been rejected, and after deliberation, the warrant was ultimately approved four days later."

In response, the special prosecution team emphasized the need for continued investigation under detention, stating that the purpose for which the CIO was established – to strictly investigate politically sensitive cases – was undermined by these individuals.

However, the court found that there was room for dispute regarding the criminal facts presented by the special prosecution team and did not recognize the necessity for detention.

The court considered that the suspects had responded to the special prosecutor's requests for appearance and that they have stable residences and occupations, concluding that the risk of evidence destruction was not high enough to warrant investigative detention.

Previously, the special prosecution team had requested warrants for five key suspects in the alleged external pressure case involving Private First Class Chae, including former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, and two Marine Corps officials responsible for Private First Class Chae's death, totaling seven individuals. However, the court rejected all warrants except for that of former Marine Corps Division Commander Im Sung-geun. With the arrest warrants for the two former CIO senior prosecutors now also rejected, it is anticipated that the Marine Corps special prosecution plan to accelerate its final investigation will inevitably face setbacks.

Given the limited time remaining for the investigation, the special prosecution team is expected to focus on supplementing the factual basis of the major suspicions raised and re-examining the legal aspects. The special prosecution team's investigation period is until the 28th of this month.

Yonhap News