After the Seoul Central District Court dismissed arrest warrant request for Seungri on May 14, Soul police announced on May 15 that they will not request a new arrest warrant for the signer.
The Seoul Regional Police confirmed, "We'll be respecting the results of the arrest warrant evaluation yesterday. Though we failed to bring them into custody, there will be no problem in terms of the conclusion of the investigation."
They also explained, "As it's the end of the investigation, it's difficult to request another one. We'll do our duty to investigate closely so that it does not interfere with the final results."
Seungri is accused of negotiating prostitution, soliciting prostitution, tax fraud, embezzlement, distributing illegal hidden camera media of women, violations of the Food Sanitation Act.
The former Big Bang member attended his arrest warrant hearing in the morning of May 14. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the pretrial detention warrant request around 10 pm KST on the same day.
Regarding the reason of dismissing the arrest warrant request, Judge Shin Jong Yeol explained, "there is room for dispute in regards to the main suspicion, which is embezzlement. It is also difficult to recognize a reason for detention, such as potential destruction of evidence, in regards to the remaining suspicions."
How does the case move forward?
The Police are running short on time. They expect to complete the investigation by the end of May, as Seungri plans to start his mandatory military duty next month. Previously, Seungri's enlistment has been postponed until June 25.
It is said that Police are speeding up the investigation process.
In addition, Seungri and Yoo In Suk were reportedly investigated for more cases of negotiating prostitution than previously known, Allkpop reported.
A layer earlier said that if Seungri enters the military, all the investigations against the singer will be handed to the military procuratorate and military court, which means Seungri will face far tougher sentencing.
The fight between fans and other netizens
Following the rejection of Seungri's arrest warrant request, many netizens criticized decision saying the judge he needs to be fired and investigated.
Meanwhile, on May 15, Seungri's fans wrote a letter of support following the news of his arrest warrant dismissal.
Fans wrote in the letter saying they have stayed quiet until now to protect Seungri's last statement. They "ask for the public not to respond emotionally to the judgment, but to look calmly at the investigation results."
The full letter reads as below:
"To our forever 'Seung-cheubi'
'For the past month and a half, I've received criticism and hatred from the public and all the investigative services have looked into me. In this kind of situation, I've become driven into a corner as a traitor, and I cannot allow myself to cause harm to so many people just because I want to survive.'
Seungri fan communities and galleries have stayed quiet until now to protect Seungri's last statement, but we've been continually supporting him. We're leaving this letter to let him know there are still fans who support him after the court's fair and deep judgment yesterday.
Judge Shin Jong Yeol of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant because 'There's room to dispute the main suspicion of embezzlement. It's also difficult to acknowledge a reason for detention, such as potential destruction of evidence, for the other suspicions.'
It's a sign of a healthy society for the judge to not be swayed by societal opinions and come to a judgment according to the law and evidence. It's also right according to the separation of powers. We sincerely ask for the public not to respond emotionally to the judgment, but to look calmly at the investigation results.
We want to give words of comfort to Seungri, who must've suffered yesterday in a place completely disconnected from the world. Seungri's gallery is thankful once again to feel that there's still justice in society, and we sincerely ask that Seungri's basic rights are protected as the investigation without detention continues."
