<Anchor>



It seems that the decision on whether or not to detain former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, who will be the first watershed in the investigation into the blacklist of the Ministry of Industry, will be decided late at night.

Our reporter is out to the court where the warrant substantive examination was held today (15th).



Reporter Park Ye-rin, it's been a while since the warrant review ended, but the court's worries seem to be getting longer.



<Reporter>



The court's substantive examination of the warrant, which decides whether or not to detain former Minister Baek Un-gyu, ended around 1:30 pm, three hours later.



A court decision has not yet been made.



Former Minister Baek is a key figure in this case, and it is expected that it will take time because of his investigation records and related materials.



In the early days of the Moon Jae-in administration, former Minister Baek was requested for an arrest warrant on charges of abuse of power, including ordering the resignation of 13 heads of agencies under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.



In addition, it is reported that the current president, Chang-Hwa Hwang, is also accused of delivering questionnaires and answer sheets before the interview so that he can become president of Korea District Heating Corporation.



<Anchor> The



prosecution sees it that way, but former Minister Baek is denying the allegations now that it was according to the procedure?



<Reporter>



Yes, former Minister Baek has denied the allegations throughout the process of being investigated by the prosecution.



He was in the same position right before the substantive examination of the warrant.



[Baek Un-gyu / Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: This was done according to the regulations set by the law when I was in office as Minister.

Today, I will faithfully participate in the warrant substantive examination.

Thank you.]



At that time, he avoided an immediate answer to the reporter's question about whether he had communicated with the Blue House regarding the appointment of the head of the agency.



It is known that during the warrant review process, former Minister Baek maintained his existing position of denying the allegations.



Former Minister Baek is currently awaiting the results of the warrant review at the Eastern Detention Center.



If a warrant is issued, it is the first case in which a key figure in the Moon Jae-in government is arrested after a change of government.



(Video coverage: Kim Se-kyung, video editing: Lee Seung-jin, on-site moderator: Seok Jeong-hoon)