Seoul Central District Court. [Photo=Yonhap News]

A warrant for the arrest of Heo Gyeom, CEO and publisher of Hanmi Ilbo, was dismissed by the court around 11 PM on the 9th.

The Seoul Central District Court's warrant judge, after conducting a pre-arrest defendant interrogation (warrant examination) for CEO Heo at courtroom 321 of the west wing of the Seoul Central District Court at 11:30 AM on the 9th, dismissed the arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant was sought, bundling together comprehensive charges against CEO Heo, including violations of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, violations of the May 18 Special Act, and defamation of Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hyun-ji, leading to concerns that it was effectively an attempt to silence critical media.

Following the court's dismissal decision on this day, CEO Heo was released from the detention center at Mapo Police Station in Seoul, where he had been waiting in custody until the decision was made, and returned home around midnight. 

Previously, the investigative authorities had requested an arrest warrant for CEO Heo on charges including violations of the Information and Communications Network Act, and the court reviewed the necessity of detention after the interrogation on this day. However, as the warrant was ultimately not issued, the investigative authorities' attempt to secure custody was unsuccessful.