The special prosecutors for insurrection said on the 28th that they plan to decide later whether to reapply for an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo after internal discussions. Earlier, on the 27th, the court dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the special prosecutors for former Prime Minister Han.
Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young, during a press briefing that morning, responded to a question from reporters about the reapplication for an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Han, saying, "We plan to decide later after internal discussions."
Earlier, Director General Jeong Jae-wook of the Seoul Central District Court's warrant department conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) regarding former Prime Minister Han's alleged aiding of insurrection leaders, perjury, forgery and use of false official documents, damage to public documents, and violations of the Presidential Archives Act for about 3 hours and 30 minutes, before dismissing the arrest warrant that same night.
Director General Jeong stated, "There are disputes regarding the legal evaluation of the important factual relationships and a series of actions of the suspect," and noted, "It is also difficult to see that there are concerns about destruction of evidence or flight."
In response, Special Prosecutor Park said, "While we respect the court's (dismissal) decision regarding the special prosecutors' request for an arrest warrant, there is some regret from the perspective that such historical tragedies should not occur again through the seriousness of the law."
He added, "To prevent a repetition of the history as in the past, I believe all citizens will agree that high-ranking officials who are in a position to prevent a state of emergency must be held strictly accountable." He continued, "The reason for the warrant dismissal does not appear to be related to the charges," and stated, "Future investigations will be carried out after internal discussions."
In addition, Special Prosecutor Park responded to a reporter's question about whether they were considering the possibility of an indictment without arrest for former Prime Minister Han, saying, "We are keeping various possibilities open," and added, "Whether to reapply for the arrest warrant, to directly file charges (without arrest), or to supplement the investigation will be decided after in-depth discussions internally."
Meanwhile, the special prosecutors announced that they are investigating former Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae, who was summoned starting at 10 a.m. that morning. Earlier, on the 20th, the special prosecutors had prevented Kim's attorney from participating in the investigation due to allegations of leaking investigative details and military secrets. This is the first interrogation since the summoning.
Former Commander Kim is reported to be appearing before the special prosecutors without an attorney for a suspect investigation. In this regard, Special Prosecutor Park stated, "The investigation is being conducted in consultation with former Commander Kim."