Police Arrest Warrant Requests Rejected Twice: Tensions Rise Between Prosecution and Police

The police have filed for an arrest warrant for Cha Ga-won, CEO of the entertainment agency One Hundred Label, twice over allegations of fraud involving 30 billion won, but the prosecution has rejected both requests.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office returned the arrest warrant for CEO Cha, which had been resubmitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit, earlier today on June 18.

It is reported that the prosecution requested further investigation, citing the need to supplement the framing of the criminal charges against CEO Cha.

Earlier this month, the police had already filed for an arrest warrant for CEO Cha once before, and it was belatedly discovered that the prosecution had returned that warrant at the time as well.

Hyun Dong-yeop, an attorney at the law firm Hwageum representing CEO Cha, stated, "Similar to the investigation into HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, we express concern over the Financial Crime Investigation Unit's practice of repeatedly filing for warrants," adding, "It is time for the head of the Financial Crime Investigation Unit to provide human rights-oriented investigative guidance."

CEO Cha is accused of receiving 24.2 billion won in advance payments after proposing a business using the intellectual property (IP) of artists under her agency to the company Nomus and signing a contract, but failing to actually carry out the business.

The police believe that CEO Cha signed a double contract with Nomus while hiding the fact that a contract she had previously signed with another company was not expected to end, and that she was not prepared to fulfill the business obligations.

Previously, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit also filed for arrest warrants twice against HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who is suspected of fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act, but both were rejected.

At the time, the prosecution, which returned the warrants, stated that the police had failed to comply with the requirements for supplementary investigation.

With the four arrest warrant requests filed by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit for both cases combined all being rejected by the prosecution, some are pointing out that this may be a sign of a nerve war between the prosecution and the police ahead of the "investigative power adjustment," which prioritizes the abolition of the prosecution's investigative authority.

As the securing of suspects in major cases is delayed, the investigations have also hit a snag.

In the case of Chairman Bang, the investigation has effectively stalled without any additional summons or questioning since the arrest warrant was rejected, and as CEO Cha's case has also faced setbacks twice, it is expected that it will take a long time to prove the charges.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Seo Byeong-uk | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.