Seoul Central District Court Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, who deliberated on the pretrial detention warrant for Democratic Party of Korea(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, released his reasoning behind his decision to dismiss it.

The 892-character written statement released on Wednesday cited a high improbability that Lee would destroy evidence or flee as the 59-year-old is the head of the main opposition party.

Addressing concerns over the destruction of evidence, Judge Yoo stated that the investigation into Lee has progressed to a significant extent and that the prosecution has secured sufficient evidence.

Regarding the suspicions of Lee’s involvement in illegal remittances to North Korea, Yoo stated that there is evidence of inappropriate intervention by the people around Lee, but little evidence to conclude that the DP leader was directly involved.

Lee remains on trial in two other cases involving alleged election law violations during his 2022 presidential campaign and corruption charges linked to another property development project that began during his time as Seongnam mayor.