ARREST WARRANT FOR KIM’S AID DENIED

[Anchor Lead]

The request for an arrest warrant for the former personal secretary of DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung's wife has been turned down. She is currently under investigation for the alleged misuse of a government credit card. Police investigating the case have expanded the probe to public officials from the Gyeonggi-do provincial government.

[Pkg]

A woman covering her face with a coat exits a police station. Identified by her last name Bae, she served as personal secretary of Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung when Lee was serving as Gyeonggi-do Province governor.

[Soundbite] Bae : "(Did you get Kim Hye-kyung’s instructions?) ... (Did you deny all the accusations regarding the misuse of the gov’t credit card?) ..."

The Suwon District Court has turned down the request for an arrest warrant for Bae for alleged malfeasance and violation of the Public Officials Election Act when she was serving as assistant junior official of the Gyeonggi-do provincial government. The court said given the collected evidence the defendant's right to defend herself should be guaranteed, adding that it's difficult to say there is an adequate reason to arrest her. Bae is being charged with paying 20 million won with a credit card of the Gyeonggi-do provincial government to run errands for Kim. Police investigating the case have expanded the probe to other Gyeonggi-do officials. The Anti-corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency has indicted one of the officials for alleged involvement in malfeasance. The official used to work in the same department with Bae and handled her credit card receipts at the time. The investigators have charged the official with neglecting the surveillance of credit card use. The official's former supervisor has also been indicted. The official has declined to answer reporters' questions. The official's former supervisor says there were multiple credit cards to take care of at the time, and monitoring each of them was difficult, adding it's the responsibility of those who use cards. Police will soon transfer the case to prosecutors.