With the dismissal of the arrest warrant against Zhao Woo-hyung, the real owner of Cheonhwa-dong No. 6, prosecutors have launched a supplementary investigation.

After weighing the reasons for dismissal, the plan is to consider whether to refile the warrant.

Earlier, Chief Judge Lee Min-so of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant yesterday (4th) after interrogating the suspect before his arrest, saying, "It is difficult to recognize the necessity of detaining the suspect at this stage."

Chief Judge Lee explained, "Lee Jae-myung, Yoo Dong-kyu, and others involved who were named as accomplices in connection with the alleged breach of trust have already been charged with crimes based on the same facts, and a separate criminal trial is underway," adding, "It is expected that it will take a considerable time until the trial is concluded, which is inevitable due to the nature of the trial procedure in which the right of defense is guaranteed."

He said, "In a case where there are various issues such as whether the accused himself and those involved committed a crime, the specific contribution of the accomplices involved, and the calculation of the amount of damages due to breach of trust, it appears that the accused also needs to be tried in a state of non-custody for a faithful hearing."

He added, "Based on the progress of the trial in this case, the evidence collected, and the evidence expected to be collected in the future, it is difficult to see the need to arrest the accused at this stage."

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 (Assistant Prosecutor Kang Bae-sang) carefully analyzed the reasons for the dismissal of the warrant and launched a supplementary investigation against Mr. Cho.

The plan is to look at the flow of funds, including where Mr. Cho used the 283.2009 billion won in development profits he was allocated, and decide whether to request the arrest warrant again.

We will also look at the so-called "allegations of wrongful death," in which Cho was investigated by the prosecutor's office in 2015 for illegally arranging loans at Busan Savings Bank, but was exonerated because he appointed former special prosecutor Park Young-so as his lawyer.

Mr. Cho is credited with helping private contractors raise funds from Busan Savings Bank and Keen & Partners.

Prosecutors believe that Mr. Cho used Seongnam City's internal secrets, such as the opening of the Seopan Bridge Tunnel, during the Daejang-dong development project in March and April 3, to collect a total of 4.1 billion won in illegal development profits with private contractors and caused 7.886 billion won in damages to the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation by January this year.

He was also charged with concealing the proceeds of crime by actually owning Cheonhwa-dong-in No. 4 by listing Cho Hyun-sung as a name on paper, and receiving 895.6 billion won in dividend profits from the Cheonhwa-dong-in No. 2019 account between March 3 and March 2021.

(Photo = Yonhap News)