On December 3, during the state of emergency, a reporter named Heo from Sky Daily, who wrote an article stating that the military apprehended 99 Chinese spies at the election training center, is being transported in a police vehicle after completing the pre-arrest interrogation at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st./Courtesy of News1

On Dec. 3, last year, a warrant for the arrest of a Sky Daily reporter, Heo, was dismissed after reporting that the military police arrested 99 Chinese spies at the National Election Commission's election training center on the day of the declaration of the state of emergency.

The Seoul Central District Court (Director General Lee Jeong-jae) dismissed the arrest warrant for Heo, who faces charges of obstructing public duty by deception and defamation, after conducting a warrant review on the 21st. The Director General noted, “There is a legal dispute regarding the criminal charges, and a substantial amount of physical evidence has been collected through coercive investigations.”

He also stated, “Heo has appeared before the investigative agency three times to complete the investigation, and most testimonies from related individuals have been collected, resulting in a significant amount of personal evidence. Considering the current progress of the investigation, along with the suspect's age, family relationships, occupation, and social ties, it is difficult to acknowledge the necessity or significance of arresting at this stage.”

Heo is accused of circulating false articles to obstruct the National Election Commission's execution of public duty. He reported on Jan. 16 that “99 Chinese individuals at the election training center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the day of the declaration of the state of emergency were transported to a U.S. military base in Japan, with those apprehended being handed over to the U.S. military and transferred to the Okinawa military base in Japan after passing through the Port of Pyeongtaek.”

The National Election Commission and the U.S. military in South Korea refuted this article, calling it “baseless.” The National Election Commission requested an investigation into Heo and the representative of Sky Daily on Jan. 20.

Sky Daily claimed to have confirmed the article's contents through U.S. sources, but the source turned out to be Ahn, who was arrested and indicted last month for attempting to enter the Chinese Embassy in South Korea dressed as “Captain America” and for allegedly forging a U.S. military ID and attempting to break and enter. It was revealed that Ahn, a former Korean soldier, had never been to the United States.

The police have deemed the Sky Daily article to be false and imposed a departure ban on them while conducting an investigation, including raiding their headquarters.