The lingering feud between South Korean courts and the prosecution over the former's strict rules in issuing arrest warrants entered a new phase after a local court again refused to grant warrants for six anti-U.S. protesters for allegedly assaulting riot police on Monday.
The conflict arose last month when a local court rejected prosecutors' repeated requests for the arrest of two main suspects in alleged financial wrongdoing here by the U.S. equity fund Lone Star.
Generating strong complaints from the prosecution, the court has said it would continue to have suspects investigated without being detained, if possible, as part of efforts to better protect human rights. Prosecutors insist that it is almost impossible to force suspects to tell the truth unless they are behind bars.
South Korean law requires the court to issue arrest warrants when a suspect is considered likely to attempt an escape or destroy evidence.
Monday's decision came a week after the Seoul Central District Court rejected the first request for warrants to arrest the activists, citing no concern that they may flee or destroy evidence.
The six turned violent during a rally in central Seoul on Dec. 6 against the free trade agreement talks between South Korea and the United States, injuring five policemen, according to prosecutors.
Also on Monday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by prosecutors seeking the arrest of Yoo Hoe-won, head of the Seoul office of the U.S. equity fund Lone Star who prosecutors say is the prime suspect in alleged stock manipulation by the company.
The application for the arrest warrant for Yoo had been rejected four times by a lower court, also on grounds that he was not considered likely to try to destroy evidence or escape.
Prosecutors have managed to get an arrest warrant for the firm's Vice Chairman Ellis Short and General Counsel Michael Thomson on stock manipulation charges after two rejections by the court.
Following the recent series of rejections, the prosecution took the unusual step of issuing a lengthy statement, rejecting reasons cited by the court for not issuing warrants for six anti-FTA protesters.
In the statement announced on Tuesday, prosecutors said they cannot understand the decision considering the level of the rally's violence and the suspects' participation in the event.
"If the court excessively limits the prosecution's investigation into illegal demonstrators and requires compelling evidence tantamount to what is required in a courtroom, this would shrink the role of police to act against illegal protests and darken the prospects for establishing a culture of peaceful demonstrations," the statement said.
Justice Minister Kim Sung-ho said his ministry was mulling amending the criminal procedural law to make the "abstract" requirements for issuing a warrant more clear.
"We're now studying how to make the elements clear," Kim was quoted as telling reporters on Monday. The seriousness of a case and the fear of a second offense might be added as new requirements, according to ministry officials.
The court has yet to officially react to the ministry's move.
Lee Sang-ju, the judge who refused to allow the arrest of the six anti-U.S. activists, however, showed uneasiness at the plan.
"We do consider 'the seriousness of a case,' an element mentioned by the justice minister, importantly enough now," Lee was quoted by a local newspaper as saying. "We issue an warrant if one is highly likely to receive a jail sentence."
The progressive group Lawyers for a Democratic Society, or Minbyun in Korean, expressed concern over the prosecution's "excessive response" to the latest court rejection.
"Prosecutors have no right to criticize the court's decision on arrest warrants," the organization said in a statement Wednesday.
"There is a problem with the prosecution's idea that participants in the rally must be detained for interrogation simply because they took part in the rally," it added.
Law experts say a heated debate is expected among the court, the prosecution and the government in the future over the proper standards for issuing warrants.
Seoul, Dec. 20 (Yonhap News)
Court-prosecution conflict deepens over standards for issuing warrants |
