Prosecutors to decide next week whether to arrest Park Geun-hye

Posted on : 2017-03-25 17:38 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
After a review of investigation records, Prosecutors will examine the relevant legal principles
Former president Park Geun-hye leaves Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on the morning of Mar. 22
Former president Park Geun-hye leaves Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on the morning of Mar. 22

A decision from Prosecutors on whether to request an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye is expected to come as soon as early next week.

“At the current stage, we are closely examining the relationship between records on former President Park and the evidence,” a source with the Prosecutors’ special investigation headquarters (headed by Lee Yeong-ryeol) said on Mar. 24.

“[A decision] is not likely to come today,” the source added.

The same source also hinted that the arrest warrant request for Park would come by next week at the earliest.

“A decision by this weekend does not appear likely,” the source said.

Since questioning Park on Mar. 21, Prosecutors have been focusing on their supplementary investigation, summoning former Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Policy Coordination Ahn Jong-beom and former Blue House secretary Jeong Ho-seong for questioning. Prosecutors originally asked Choi Sun-sil and two others to attend on the day of Park’s questioning, but all three declined. Prosecutors are now weighing the relationship between the evidence and their records, including the results of questioning of Park and the three others.

“There’s a lot more volume to be [processed] than we thought,” they said.

Once the review of investigation records and reports in complete, Prosecutors plan to examine the relevant legal principles before reporting the team’s opinion to Prosecutor-General Kim Soo-nam.

Responding to reporters’ questions on Park’s fate while reporting to work on the morning to Mar. 23, Kim said, “That is a matter to be determined purely in terms of the law, principle, and the progress made in the investigation.” Some analysts took this as meaning Prosecutors have decided on plans to request an arrest warrant for Park and are now weighing the timing.

The Supreme Prosecutor’s Office cautioned against reading too much into Kim’s statements, saying he was “speaking in general terms.”

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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