Heo Kyung-yong, the honorary representative of the National Revolutionary Party, who is facing charges of quasi-forced molestation, fraud, and violations of the Political Fund Act, is at a crossroads regarding his detention. The decision on whether to detain him is expected to be made as early as the 16th.
The Uijeongbu District Court announced on the 14th that a pre-detention suspect interrogation (substantive examination of the warrant) regarding Heo's case of embezzlement, fraud, violations of the Political Fund Act, and quasi-forced molestation will take place at 2:30 p.m. on the 16th. The results of the substantive examination of the warrant are expected to be released that afternoon.
Heo is accused of molesting female congregants at his religious facility "Heaven Palace" and selling spiritual products to congregants at exorbitantly inflated prices compared to their cost.
The police have continued their investigation by summoning Heo over 30 times after receiving complaints from congregants and conducting searches of related facilities. Subsequently, the police applied for a warrant for Heo's detention on the 8th, and the prosecution filed for the warrant five days later on the 13th.
In response, Heo reportedly denied all allegations, stating that "the complainants (congregants) filed the complaint to extort money."