South Korean court denies arrest warrant for opposition leader Lee in corruption allegations

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean judge has denied an arrest warrant for the country’s opposition leader on broad corruption allegations, saying there wasn’t a clear threat that he would destroy evidence. Lee Jae-myung, who awaited the decision at a detention facility where he would have been held had the judge granted his arrest, praised the court for “safeguarding constitutional order.” He did not answer reporters’ questions about his criminal investigation. The arrest warrant hearing was set up after South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted last week to lift Lee’s immunity to arrest, an unexpected outcome that reflected growing divisions within the Democratic Party over his legal troubles months before a general election.