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South Korea conservative slams arrest warrant decision

By Elizabeth Shim
Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, has become more vocal in her criticism of President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party. File Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE
Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, has become more vocal in her criticism of President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party. File Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE

SEOUL, March 26 (UPI) -- A South Korean conservative who recently angered members of President Moon Jae-in's ruling party condemned a court decision to overturn an arrest warrant request for a Moon administration official.

Na Kyung-won, a veteran lawmaker and conservative who previously suggested Moon was acting as a "spokesman" for North Korea's Kim Jong Un, said Tuesday the judicial decision to cancel an arrest warrant request for former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung was a politically calculated move, local paper Segye Ilbo reported.

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"The pressure from the presidential Blue House appears to be having the desired effect," Na said, while claiming Moon and his administration are exercising their power over the courts.

Moon's office said in statement it "respects the decision of the judge" to reject an arrest warrant for Kim.

Moon appointed Kim after being elected president in 2017.

Kim is suspected of abusing her power while in government, and forcing heads of public agencies affiliated with the ministry to resign if they voiced criticism of the Moon administration, according to Yonhap.

Kim resigned in 2018. Before she left office she may have also sought to oust officials who were appointed during the previous Park Geun-hye administration.

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On Tuesday, Na said the Moon administration held a monopolistic influence over South Korea's judiciary, and that overturning the arrest warrant request was not in the public interest. Na also called ex-minister Kim's abuse as politically motivated "blacklisting."

South Korean prosecutors are also pursuing a reinvestigation into the case of a former justice ministry official who served under the previous Park administration.

Park has been imprisoned since her impeachment in 2017, but Seoul is reopening the case of former vice minister of justice Kim Hak-ui on suspicion his case was not properly handled in 2013 and 2014.

Kim Hak-ui is accused of raping women at an orgy hosted by a real estate developer when he was working as a member of government, according to reports.

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