Police vow thorough supplemental investigation after court denies arrest warrant for Rep. Kim Byung-kee
After prosecutors rejected the arrest warrant for independent Rep. Kim Byung-kee, police said they would faithfully carry out the investigation needed for a supplemental probe.
Speaking at a regular press briefing on the morning of the 14th, National Police Agency acting chief Kim Jong-chul said he found it "somewhat regrettable" that the warrant was not sought. Kim explained, "Because we conducted the investigation meticulously and carefully reviewed the applicable legal principles in order to strengthen the completeness of the investigation, it took some time."
Police launched their investigation in September of last year and applied for a pre-arrest warrant for Rep. Kim about a year later, on the 7th of this month. The main allegations cited in the warrant include corruption involving the employment of his second son and his admission to Soongsil University; condoning Rep. Kang Seon-woo's receipt of 100 million won; accepting sponsorship money from Shilla Leisure; receiving Korean Air hotel accommodation vouchers; and embezzlement of operating expenses from the Dongjak District Council.
Previously, on the 11th, prosecutors returned the arrest warrant request for Rep. Kim to police without seeking it. Prosecutors explained, "Considering that the suspect complied with seven rounds of summons questioning, and taking into account the roughly five months of investigative proceedings between the final questioning and the warrant application, we judged the justification for detention to be insufficient." They added, "After closely examining the collected evidence and the suspect's statements, we determined that some allegations require further evidence, and we requested a supplemental investigation accordingly."
When reporters asked how many suspicions were specified in the warrant and whether there were plans for an additional referral to prosecutors, police drew the line, saying, "It is difficult to disclose specific allegations."
