Arrest warrant for scandal-hit 'big fish' rejected

Special probe on Choi scandal to end next week

By Jung Min-ho

A Seoul court rejected an arrest warrant for former presidential aide Woo Byung-woo, early Wednesday, putting the brakes on the independent counsel team that aimed to catch the last “big fish” behind the Choi Soon-sil scandal.

With only one week remaining until their mandate expires and little chance of extending the period, the team led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo will likely indict him without detention on criminal charges, including abuse of power.

Judge Oh Min-seok at the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant, saying it was difficult to acknowledge the need for it due to a lack of evidence.

Woo, who served as a presidential secretary for civil affairs from May 2014 to October 2016, is one of the key figures in the massive influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi.

He is accused of overlooking meddling in state affairs, abusing his power to protect Cheong Wa Dae and himself, obstructing the investigation into the sinking of the ferry Sewol in 2014 among many other allegations.

At the hearing before the court decision, Woo denied the allegations, saying he only played a bridging role and carried out the President’s orders. The former prosecutor also claimed he did not know Choi, who is accused of helping him get the Cheong Wa Dae post.

The rejection is largely blamed on the presidential office, which did not allow investigators to collect evidence needed for the warrant.

Also, the team was pressured by time as acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has refused to accept their request to extend their mandate, which will end Feb. 28 without his approval.

“The rejection of the warrant shows how important it is to investigate Cheong Wa Dae and extend the investigation period,” Sim Sang-jeung, head of the minor opposition Justice Party, said in a statement. “With that done, Woo would not have been able to avoid arrest.”

Choo Mi-ae, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, also criticized Hwang, saying the court decision was “disappointing.” “Hwang will go down in history as a person who abused his power to protect criminals,” she said.

Rep. Kim Kyung-jin, spokesman of the minor People’s Party, urged investigators to make the best use of their remaining time and resources to arrest Woo, calling him the central figure in the corruption scandal. Yet the investigation team will likely be disbanded after this month. With the ruling Liberty Korea Party fiercely opposed to the idea of extending their mandate, the only way to make it happen is to cooperate with National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun who has the power to submit a bill to extend its term directly to a plenary session.

But Chung is concerned that he may be criticized for abusing his power. Besides, even if the National Assembly passes the bill, Hwang can veto it at the last minute so that lawmakers cannot do anything.

During a press briefing, Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecutor, said the team has to indict Woo without detention or hand over all the evidence to the prosecution if its mandate expires this month.