The fate of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is facing the possibility of re-arrest after four months, now rests in the hands of the chief judge handling the warrant at the Seoul Central District Court.

On the 7th, the Seoul Central District Court announced that the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for former President Yoon, who is accused of special obstruction of public duty, will be held on the 9th at 2:15 PM.

According to the Central District Court, the chief judge responsible for the pre-arrest suspect interrogation of former President Yoon is Judge Nam Se-jin (47, Judicial Research and Training Institute, Class of 33).

Judge Nam Se-jin's Background as a Traditional Jurist and Judicial Approach

In February of this year, Judge Nam was assigned to take charge of the Criminal Division 44 of the Seoul Central District Court, and he is evaluated as a traditional judge with a low political bias who specializes in trials.

Originally from Seoul, Judge Nam graduated from Seoul National University’s Law Department in 2001 and passed the 43rd bar exam the same year. He completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 2004.

He began his judicial career in 2004 at the Seoul Central District Court and has since worked at the Seoul Eastern District Court, Daejeon District Court, and Uijeongbu District Court.

Subsequently, he served as a senior judge at the Seoul Eastern District Court, Busan District Court’s Eastern Branch, and Uijeongbu District Court before moving to the Seoul Central District Court in February of this year to handle Criminal Division 44.

A review of Judge Nam's past rulings suggests that he has consistently made judgments faithful to the law.

Reviewing Significant Cases… “Delivering Law-Abiding Judgments”

In May, he dismissed arrest warrants for four members of the Korean University Student Progressive Alliance (Daejinryun) who protested calling for the resignation of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae at the Supreme Court, citing "low risk of flight and evidence destruction."

He stated, "Given the location of the intrusion and the planning involved, the nature of the crime is not light, and it is acknowledged that the defendants have similar prior offenses," but he found, "Considering the circumstances at the time of the intrusion and the extent of harm, as well as the defendants' stable residences, the risk of flight is low and most evidence has already been secured."

Additionally, in March, he also dismissed an arrest warrant for Park Hyun-jong, former chairman of bhc, who was suspected of misappropriating 2 billion won in public funds, considering the guarantee of the defendant's rights and the low possibility of flight.

On the other hand, in May, he issued an arrest warrant for a current police officer accused of accepting bribes worth several hundred million won in exchange for covering up an investigation, citing "risk of evidence destruction and flight."

While serving in the 4-2 Criminal Division of the Uijeongbu District Court, Judge Nam upheld a not guilty verdict in the appeal of former Gyeonggi Namyangju Mayor Cho Kwang-han, who was prosecuted for involvement in the hiring of chief of the Auditing Office of the Namyangju Urban Corporation, rejecting the prosecution's appeal.

At that time, Judge Nam ruled, "The evidence submitted by the prosecution is insufficient to prove that the defendants used coercion to obstruct the hiring process of the victims," maintaining that the original judgment was justified.

The Special Investigation Team for the Insurrection, 18 Days into the Investigation, Requests an Arrest Warrant for Former President Yoon

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team for the Insurrection (led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok) requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon the day before (on the 6th), 18 days into their investigation.

With this decision from the Special Investigation Team, former President Yoon now faces the possibility of being re-arrested approximately four months after being released due to a court decision to cancel his arrest in March.

The warrant requested by the Special Investigation Team includes charges of special obstruction of public duty, abuse of authority, and forging false public documents.

Image source: Former President Yoon Seok-yeol / News1, News1