Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, known as a close confidant of First Lady Kim Keon-hee, attends the warrant review hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on the 5th. Yonhap News. 

The court requested the special prosecutor's team, led by Prosecutor Park Min-ki, to submit an opinion from a legal perspective on whether the current case falls within the scope of investigation as defined by the special prosecutor law.

According to legal circles on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 2-1 (Presiding Judges Kwak Jeong-han, Kang Hee-seok, Cho Eun-ah) reportedly made this request during the review of the detention suitability filed by former CEO Lee, stating, "The special prosecutor's investigation scope, as stipulated by the special prosecutor law, pertains to 'related crimes,' not merely 'related cases.'"

On the same day, according to former CEO Lee's side, the court pointed out, "If someone assaults someone on their way out after attending the trial related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee's stock manipulation, would that also be subject to the special prosecutor's investigation?"

It appears there is a need to clarify whether former CEO Lee's case, involving alleged violations of the Attorney-at-Law Act, is indeed within the special prosecutor's investigative jurisdiction.

In response, the special prosecutor's team reportedly replied, "That is an excessively extreme hypothetical."

Former CEO Lee's legal team is also scheduled to submit their related opinion to the court by 5 PM.

Former CEO Lee is accused of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act by allegedly receiving over 80 million won in 25 installments from June 2022 to February 2023 from Lee Jeong-pil, the primary "stock mover" in the first phase of the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, and promising to assist him in receiving a suspended sentence instead of a prison term in his criminal trial.

Previously, on the 5th, Judge Nam Se-jin of the Seoul Central District Court, who handles warrant applications, issued an arrest warrant for former CEO Lee, citing "concern of evidence tampering."

Former CEO Lee's legal team petitioned the court for a detention suitability review, arguing that the special prosecutor's team has already secured most of the key evidence, leaving no substantial evidence to tamper with, thus negating the grounds for detention based on "concern of evidence tampering." A detention suitability review is a procedure where the court examines the legality and necessity of continued detention during the investigation stage at the request of the party concerned.

Hanmi Ilbo / Yonhap News