Arrest Warrant For Burning Sun CEO Lee Moon Ho Rejected

Mar 20, 2019

The arrest warrant for Burning Sun CEO Lee Moon Ho has been rejected.

On March 19, chief judge Shin Jong Yeol of the Seoul Central District Court questioned Lee Moon Ho to determine the validity of a warrant, ultimately reaching the decision to reject the warrant request.

Judge Shin Jong Yeol said, “There’s room for argument about the criminal charges of drug use and possession. It’s difficult to recognize the need and reasonability for the suspect’s arrest considering the collection of evidence, the suspects’ whereabouts and potential for severed contact, the suspect’s attitude towards the investigations, his criminal history related to drugs, and the connections between the adult entertainment establishment and the police.”

On the previous day, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s regional investigation unit requested an arrest warrant for Lee Moon Ho under suspicions of violations of the Drug Control Law. The police interrogated Lee Moon Ho from March 4 to 5 about the distribution and use of drugs inside of the club.

Lee Moon Ho denied the accusations, but tested positive for drugs according to results by the National Forensic Service. The police then changed Lee Moon Ho’s status to a suspect and made moves to take him into custody. The court’s decision to reject the warrant request, however, has put a brake on the initial police plans to secure him and investigate the organized drug distribution inside of Burning Sun.

So far, police have booked 40 people for drug-related charges, including 14 who used or distributed drugs at Burning Sun. Three of these 14 worked at the club as MDs (merchandisers or promoters).

Seventeen people were booked from other clubs, and nine others were charged with distributing the date rape drug Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GBH). This also includes the Chinese Burning Sun employee Anna, who was suspected of dealing drugs at Burning Sun.

Source: Soompi