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| ▲ Conservative YouTuber Jeon Han-gil (C) arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on April 16, 2026, to attend his arrest warrant hearing over his alleged defamation of President Lee Jae Myung. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) YouTuber-arrest warrant
(LEAD) Court rejects arrest warrant for YouTuber charged with defamation of Lee
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with details)
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday rejected a warrant to arrest conservative YouTuber Jeon Han-gil over charges of defaming President Lee Jae Myung and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the minor New Reform Party.
Following a hearing held earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court denied the warrant, citing a lack of concerns about flight or evidence tampering.
Jeon, known as a vocal supporter of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is accused of claiming on YouTube since last year that President Lee had created a slush fund worth 160 trillion won (US$109 billion) and of raising allegations regarding his private life with a presidential secretary.
He is also accused of arguing that minor party leader Lee's double major in economics at Harvard University was false.
"I have lived by the law and have no criminal record, but after the Lee Jae Myung administration was launched, I ended up at the police station and the court," Jeon told reporters before attending the hearing.
"I merely cited allegations reported in the U.S. media, and (my claims) have nothing to do with crime."
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency applied for an arrest warrant for Jeon on Tuesday after questioning him three times since last month. The police estimate that Jeon earned about 32.6 million won in profits from six videos containing his claims.
Police plan to review whether to once again seek a warrant to arrest Jeon following an additional investigation.
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