Choi Chang-won, leader of the minor party Naeilromiraero (now Pro-America Coalition), avoided detention over charges of producing banners that stoked anti-China sentiment and election fraud suspicions using illegal political funds.
Kim Ji-hyun, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, rejected the arrest warrant after conducting a pre-detention questioning of the suspect (substantive review of the warrant) for Choi, who faces charges of violating the Political Funds Act, starting at 10:30 a.m. on the 9th.
Explaining the reason for the rejection, Judge Kim said, "Given that the suspect has no prior criminal record and considering his attitude during questioning, it is difficult to conclude that there is a risk of the suspect fleeing or destroying evidence."
Choi appeared at the court around 9:59 a.m. that morning, arriving in a police vehicle. He entered the courthouse with his eyes fixed on the ground. The questioning had originally been scheduled for the 7th of this month, but the court rescheduled it to the 9th after he failed to appear.
Naeilromiraero posted banners containing phrases stoking anti-China sentiment and election fraud suspicions following the Dec. 3 emergency martial law. The National Election Commission filed a complaint with police last July, alleging that the Naeilromiraero party raised political funds through an account that had not been officially reported and used them to produce and post the banners in question. Under the Political Funds Act, political parties must manage political fund income and expenditures through only one account reported to the election commission. A patriotic banner group is also known to have raised donations through this account and engaged in banner-posting activities together. On Jan. 27 last year, police searched the home of a person surnamed Kim, the head of the patriotic banner group in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
The court had earlier conducted a warrant review on the 7th for Kim, who also faces charges of violating the Political Funds Act, but rejected the arrest warrant, saying it was "difficult to conclude that there is a risk of destroying evidence or fleeing."
