Seoul: A Seoul court has denied an arrest warrant for Lee Eun-woo, the former head of public broadcaster KTV, who was accused of promoting insurrection linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law imposition in 2024. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the warrant, highlighting the ongoing debate about the validity of the insurrection charges and the absence of evidence indicating Lee's potential flight risk or evidence tampering.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee was accused of directing KTV to repeatedly broadcast reports supporting the legitimacy of Yoon's martial law following its declaration on December 3, 2024, while suppressing critical reports. He attended his arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, which was scheduled for 10 a.m. KTV operates under the Korea Policy Broadcasting Service, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The second comprehensive special counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, sought the arrest warrant for Lee on Monday, charging him with propaganda for insurrection. This was Kwon's team's first attempt to secure custody of a suspect since its formation in February. Previously, Lee was indicted by another special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk for abuse of authority, specifically for allegedly removing broadcast captions that labeled the martial law as illegal and unconstitutional.

Cho's team cleared Lee of insurrection propaganda charges, reasoning that the alleged offense occurred post-martial law and that severe punishment might impede press freedom. They have requested a five-year prison sentence for Lee, with the sentencing hearing set for June 26.

Amid these developments, some legal experts suggest that Kwon's team's warrant request could be perceived as "double indictment," as it revisits an already indicted case. The special counsel team is now reviewing the court's rationale behind the rejection and will decide on pursuing another warrant.