Court denies arrest warrant for ex-special counsel over corruption charges

A Seoul court on Friday rejected an arrest warrant sought for former special counsel Park Young-soo over corruption allegations related to a high-profile land development scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court denied the prosecution's request to detain Park, citing room for dispute regarding the bribery allegations and emphasizing the need to guarantee the suspect's right to a defense.

The former special counsel is suspected of taking 800 million won ($611,000) from private developers in return for helping their project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, into apartment complexes in 2014, when he served as the chair of the Woori Bank board of directors.

Prosecutors also suspect that Park conspired with his former assistant, Yang Jae-sik, and both were promised profits of 20 billion won and two properties. Later, the promised profits allegedly decreased to 5 billion won after the bank's role in the project was reduced.

In a separate decision, the court also denied the arrest warrant sought for Yang.

Following the court's rulings, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, which is investigating the case, said it would review whether to seek arrest warrants again after conducting further investigations.

Park is one of the prominent individuals involved in the "5 billion club." They were each promised 5 billion won by asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, which gained astronomical profits from the project. Other figures allegedly include former ruling party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do and former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam.

Park gained fame after investigating the corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye as a special counsel in 2017. She was eventually ousted following an indictment and conviction. Yang also participated in the investigation. (Yonhap)