The prosecutor's office had requested an arrest warrant from the court on suspicion of breach of trust and other charges against Lee Jae-myeong, the leader of South Korea's largest opposition party, but it was rejected. The opposition parties have condemned the investigation as "political repression," and it is expected that the confrontation between the administration and the opposition parties will intensify in the run-up to the general election in April next year.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, which has a majority in South Korea's National Assembly,
has been asked for an arrest warrant by prosecutors on suspicion of breach of trust and other charges of involvement in fraudulent business when he was head of a local government and
illegal remittances to North Korea by companies.
Since the Diet passed the arrest consent bill last week, on the 26th, a review was held with Representative Lee in attendance to finally decide whether or not to issue an arrest warrant for the court.
Then, in the early morning of the 27th, the Korean news agency Union News reported that the court rejected the request for an arrest warrant because "it is difficult to see that there is a reason or necessity for detention."
With the general election coming up in April next year, Lee, who leads the party, has confronted the administration of President Yoon Sung-yeol head-on, claiming that the release of treated water from TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean will be recorded as "the release of 'nuclear contaminated water' will be recorded as a second Pacific war," and accusing the investigation against him of "political repression."
Following the rejection of the arrest warrant request, the "Democratic Party of Korea" is expected to further strengthen its confrontational stance against the Yoon administration, and the confrontation between the administration and the opposition parties is expected to intensify in the run-up to the general election.