Arrest warrant for Yoo Ah-in rejected

The arrest warrant for actor Yoo Ah-in (real name Um Hong-sik, 37), who is suspected of habitual drug use, and writer Choi (32), who is known to be his closest aide, was dismissed at 11:35 pm on the 24th.

Lee Min-soo, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, said, "It is difficult to conclude that the suspect is likely to destroy evidence or flee beyond the scope of the exercise of the right to defend" after questioning the suspect before arresting Yoo Ah-in. It is difficult to acknowledge the reason and necessity of arrest at this stage," he dismissed the warrant.

At the same time, the court explained, "The suspect admits to a large extent the basic facts themselves, and is reflecting on smoking marijuana." .

Yoo Ah-in, who has been waiting in the detention center of Mapo Police Station since this afternoon, will be sent home immediately.

Although Yoo Ah-in escaped arrest, he was disgraced as a police officer, but the legal community analyzes that the possibility of his imprisonment is still high. The court's view that the possibility of destroying evidence is low can be interpreted as counter-evidence that sufficient evidence has already been secured. In fact, it means that the degree of completion of the investigation was high. Although there is room for contention over some cocaine, the fact that Yoo Ah-in acknowledged the basic fact of drug use was also a major reason for the rejection.

Since the court also acknowledged most of the evidence, Yoo Ah-in cannot deny the charges from the first trial, and in effect, he will have a 'sentence argument'. In a word, he had no choice but to make an argument saying, 'I won't commit a crime again, so please do me a favor'.

In addition, since the trial is conducted without detention, the trial itself in the first trial is lengthened, and if he is sentenced to prison later, the time of suffering that Yoo Ah-in will have to endure will be longer. For Yoo Ah-in, the legal community expects that the dismissal of the warrant this time could adversely affect his future actions.

The police also recognized the completeness of the investigation as the court dismissed the warrant for the reason of securing evidence. This means that the burden of proving facts or applying legal principles has been reduced. In fact, it is a procedure that is no different from the end of the investigation.

Yoo Ah-in is accused of using a total of 5 types of drugs. In February, the police received the results of an analysis from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation that found four types of narcotic components, including hemp, propofol, cocaine, and ketamine, in Yoo Ah-in's hair and urine. Circumstances of prescriptions for non-medical purposes were captured.

On this day, Yoo Ah-in's closest aide, Choi Mo, a writer who graduated from an art school, was also moved to the detention center at Mapo Police Station after questioning the suspect before arrest at 11:30 am on the same day, but was released after the warrant was dismissed.

Jiye Choi, staff reporter at TenAsia wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr