Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 31st for a hearing before his arrest warrant is issued. Yonhap News. 

Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who was arrested on charges of conspiring to commit rebellion related to the 12.3 emergency martial law, had his request to have his detention re-evaluated by the court denied.

The 8th Criminal Appeals Division 8-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Cha Seung-hwan, Ryu Chang-seong, Choi Jin-sook) held a review of Lee's detention on the 8th and dismissed his request, stating, "The claim in this case is deemed groundless."

The court explained, "Based on the results of the suspect interrogation and the case records, there is no evidence to suggest that the laws regarding detention requirements and procedures were violated," and "There is sufficient reason to believe there is a risk of evidence tampering, necessitating continued detention."

Lee was arrested on the 1st on charges of engaging in important tasks for rebellion, abuse of power, and perjury.

Lee is accused of failing to prevent the illegal declaration of martial law and effectively aiding and abetting it as the minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the government body responsible for peacetime martial law.

Furthermore, he is accused of committing an act of "subversion of the constitution" by ordering the Korean National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency to cut off electricity and water to media outlets, thereby infringing upon freedom of the press and the public's right to life and safety. He is also accused of sequentially participating in former President Yoon's rebellion crimes through these actions.

Lee is also accused of providing false testimony to the Constitutional Court. In the impeachment trial proceedings for former President Yoon in February, he testified to the effect that he had never attempted to cut off electricity or water and had not received such instructions from the president. However, the special prosecutor's team believes this testimony to be entirely false.

The special prosecutor's team reportedly argued for the necessity of detention-based investigation by presenting 85 PowerPoint slides and a 110-page opinion brief on the day.

It was also emphasized that the arrest warrant had already been issued, meaning the criminal charges had been substantiated, and there had been no significant change in circumstances since the warrant was issued.

Lee's legal team reportedly denied most of the charges, as they had done previously, during the detention review on the day.

Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 31st for a hearing before his arrest warrant is issued. Yonhap News. 

The special prosecutor's team had requested an extension of Lee's detention period from the court the previous day and received approval.

The originally extended detention period was until the 19th, but it is expected to be further extended due to the request for a detention review.

The Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that the period from when the court receives the investigative documents and evidence in response to a detention review request until their return to the prosecutor's office after a decision is not included in the detention period.

Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, known as a close confidant of First Lady Kim Keon-hee, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on the 5th for a hearing on his arrest warrant. Yonhap News.  Meanwhile, the court also conducted a detention review for Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, who was arrested by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki's team, and dismissed his request.

As the detention reviews for both individuals and the court's decisions occurred at similar times, a "hiccup" occurred where the dismissal of Lee's request was mistakenly reported as the dismissal for Lee Sang-min due to confusion during reporting.

Yonhap News