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arrest warrant for actor Yoo Ah-in, who is accused of
distributing narcotics, has been dismissed. The court said that there was no need for detention, saying that it was difficult to conclude that there was a risk of destruction or flight of evidence.

Reporter Kim Ji-wook reports.

Regarding the reason for rejecting the request for an arrest warrant against <
reporter >
actor Yoo Ah-in, Lee Min-so, the presiding judge of the Seoul Central District Court, said, "It is difficult to conclude that there is a fear of destroying evidence or fleeing." I explained.

He said he could not accept the reason and necessity of his arrest, citing that "a substantial amount of relevant evidence has already been obtained," that Mr. Yu "acknowledges the basic facts to a large extent," and that "the allegations of cocaine use cannot be ruled out to be disputed."

The warrant request was also dismissed against Mr. A, an art university graduate who was an acquaintance of Mr. Yu and was also examined for an arrest warrant.

After his request for an arrest warrant was dismissed, Mr. Yoo, who was released from the detention center at the Mapo Police Station in Seoul, said he would continue to pursue his case through the remaining procedures.

[Yoo Ah-in/Actor (after the warrant was dismissed): (Do you think it was an unreasonable warrant application?) I don't think that's for me to decide. I respect and appreciate the court's decision.]

There was also a commotion when someone threw a plastic bottle of soda at Mr. Yu as he was moving to get to his car.

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Yu, who appeared at an interrogation to consider whether an arrest warrant should be issued, admitted to many of the allegations of drug possession but strongly denied allegations that he was involved in the foreign flight process of an acquaintance, a YouTuber.

[Yoo Ah-in/Actor (yesterday): (Do you admit to taking cocaine?) (Is it true that he was trying to escape his accomplices?) He admits to much of the charges, and he never attempted to cause his accomplices to escape.]

Police say they will review the reasons for dismissing the arrest warrant before deciding whether to reapply.

(Video reporter: Choi Joon-sik, Seol Min-hwan, Video editing: Lee So-young)