Prosecutor's Investigator Gets Suspended Sentence for Stealing Warrant Copy at Friend's Request

A suspended prison sentence has been finalized for a prosecution investigator who was indicted on charges of leaking investigative information, including a copy of an arrest warrant, to a friend.

Recently, the Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) finalized the lower court's ruling sentencing A, in his 50s, to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation on charges of obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means and violation of the Act on Electronic Documents in Criminal Procedure.

While working as an investigator at the Daegu District Prosecutor's Office, A was sent to trial on charges of viewing other people's criminal case information on the Criminal Justice Information System between December 2023 and April 2025 and leaking the contents to his friend B.

A was also charged with receiving a copy of the arrest warrant request for C, the cousin of friend B, after being asked by B last April [April 2025], checking its contents, and then informing B.

C, a police officer, was already in custody on bribery charges.

Investigations showed that A obtained the copy of the warrant by deceiving a fellow colleague, claiming it was necessary for work.

The first instance court stated, "Forgetting his status and position as a prosecution official, he committed crimes multiple times for private purposes by deceiving a colleague at the prosecutors' office where he works, so his culpability is not light," sentencing him to 10 months in prison.

However, in the second instance, A's sentence was reduced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation.

The second instance court explained the reason for the sentence reduction, stating, "The copy of the arrest warrant request delivered to the defendant contained the same contents as those already issued to the subject's legal counsel through the court, and it was retrieved immediately after the crime."

A appealed the ruling, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, ruling that there were no errors in this judgment.

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.