A Seoul district court on Wednesday dismissed the prosecution’s request to arrest a well-known reporter who had claimed that a younger brother of President Park Geun-hye was behind a murder case.

Joo Jin-woo, a reporter of the monthly news magazine Sisa IN, is accused of spreading false and defamatory information in his article that the president’s younger brother, Park Ji-man, was involved in the killing of his relative.

“There is not enough reason to detain Joo at the present stage after reviewing the evidence and investigation process in which the freedom of press is argued,” Um Sang-pil, a judge from the Seoul Central District Court, said of the reasons for the court’s decision.

A day earlier, Joo attended a hearing to decide whether an arrest warrant should be issued for him and argued that he had received a death threat in connection with his article. (Yonhap News)