[Anchor]
A police officer who was emergency arrested for falsely closing the missing persons case of Jang Mi-ran has suddenly been released today (the 24th). The court issued a release order, ruling that the police's arrest procedure was unlawful. The officer in question will undergo a warrant substantive review tomorrow while remaining free.
Reporting by correspondent Cho Min-ki.
[Reporter]
Inspector A, who is accused of falsely closing missing persons cases assigned to him, steps out of the police station detention center.
Bereaved family members, who rushed over upon hearing the news of the release, push Inspector A and strongly protest.
[Inspector A: ((The body) has been found, would you like to say a word to the bereaved family?) ....... (Aren't you sorry?) ....... (Don't you even feel remorse?) .......]
Yesterday, just a day after being emergency arrested, Inspector A applied to the court for a review of the legality of the arrest to determine if it was lawful. Today, the court sided with Inspector A, ruling that there were unlawful aspects in the emergency arrest procedure.
The Jeju District Court explained, "An emergency arrest should be carried out when there is no time to secure an arrest warrant, but Inspector A's whereabouts had been located and he had also expressed his willingness to appear before investigative authorities, so this did not apply."
This means the police had more than enough time to obtain an arrest warrant.
As Inspector A was released just two days after the arrest due to flawed investigative methods, criticisms poured in that the police failed to properly verify even the most basic requirements for an emergency arrest.
[Missing Person's Family Member: I still trusted the police. This is absurd. Is this really a police force for the citizens?]
Earlier this morning, the police applied for an arrest warrant for Inspector A, citing "risks of evidence destruction and flight," and the prosecution promptly requested a warrant from the court.
The warrant substantive review will be held tomorrow afternoon at the Jeju District Court, and controversies surrounding the police investigation process against Inspector A are expected to persist regardless of whether he is detained.
(Video reporting: Oh Il-ryung from JIBS | Video editing: So Ji-hye | Design: Lee Jong-jung)
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