▲ Former Presidential Secretary for Public Office Discipline Lee Si-won arrives for his warrant validity hearing.
Lee Si-won, the former Secretary for Public Office Discipline at the Presidential Office, who is accused of leaking information regarding the investigation into the death of a Marine, has avoided arrest.
Judge Lee Jong-rok of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrant reviews, denied the arrest warrant today (July 15) after conducting a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant validity hearing) for Lee. The court stated, "There is room for legal debate regarding the criminal charges, and considering the progress of the investigation, the suspect's attitude, and his attendance at other criminal trials, it is difficult to see a risk of him fleeing or destroying evidence."
Previously, the 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, led by Kwon Chang-young, had requested an arrest warrant for Lee on July 10 on charges of leaking official secrets.
Lee is accused of being informed in September 2023 that the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency was planning to conduct a search and seizure operation related to the death of the late Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun, and subsequently relaying this information to the Marine Corps.
It was determined that at the time, the National Office of Investigation (NOI) under the National Police Agency had relayed the search and seizure plan for the 1st Marine Division to an official in the Presidential Office's Office of Public Office Discipline.
The special counsel team suspects that Lee, after receiving this report, informed an official at the National Security Office, and that this information was eventually passed on to the Marine Corps via the Ministry of National Defense.
The Marine Corps special counsel team, which previously investigated the allegations, had captured circumstances suggesting that the report on the Gyeongbuk Police Agency's investigation was relayed through the NOI to the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense, and finally to the Marine Corps.
Based on this, they suspected the possibility that Lee had received and reported the investigation information under the direction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, but they were unable to conclude the case due to a lack of time.
The Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, which launched in February of this year, conducted further investigations and moved to secure Lee's detention.
This was the first request for an arrest warrant for a suspect related to the Marine Chae case.
Special Prosecutor Kim Chi-heon, who investigated the case, expressed confidence ahead of the hearing, stating, "It meets all requirements, including the gravity of the crime, risk of evidence destruction, and risk of flight, as well as concerns regarding recidivism and potential harm to witnesses." However, the court rejected the warrant.
With this rejection, the special counsel team's plan to confirm whether there was involvement or orders from the higher-ups, including former President Yoon, using Lee as a key link, has faced a setback.
As the first attempt to secure a suspect in five months since the team's launch has ended in failure, concerns are being raised that the Comprehensive Special Counsel Team's investigation into the Marine Chae case could effectively end empty-handed.
The investigation period for the Comprehensive Special Counsel Team is set to expire on July 24.
The special counsel team has requested that the National Assembly amend the Special Counsel Act to extend the investigation period by an additional 30 days, and this passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly today under the leadership of the ruling party.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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