A Seoul court will have a hearing on Thursday over whether to issue an arrest warrant for former President Lee Myung-bak.<br />But Lee, who is accused of corruption,... said he will not be present at the hearing,... claiming to have explained himself fully during last week's interrogation.<br />According to our Park Hee-jun, whether or not Lee attends won't have much influence on the session's outcome. <br /> Former President Lee Myung-bak says he will not attend his own hearing,... where the Seoul Central District Court is set to decide on Thursday,... whether to issue an arrest warrant for the ex-president.<br />Lee said through his staff Tuesday that he doesn't feel the need to attend,... since he has already explained himself during last week's marathon questioning session.<br />Instead, Lee's lawyers will be present to reiterate his innocence.<br /><br /> The defendant's absence is usually disadvantageous for the defendant, but in this case,... the prosecutors' office says there's already a high possibility of an arrest warrant being issued-- even if Lee had decided to attend the hearing.<br /><br />And experts agree with that assessment.<br /><br /> "Considering the amount of evidence,... whether he attends or not won't affect the court's decision."<br /><br /> Under normal circumstances, a hearing is carried out by the judge questioning the defendant.<br />But with Lee's absence,... the court is likely to proceed without further hearings,... instead going over the interrogation records and other evidence from the investigation.<br /><br />The court is expected to decide as soon as Thursday night-- immediately after the court review,... whether to issue the warrant.<br /> And if it does,... Lee Myung-bak will be the fourth former South Korean leader to face arrest for corruption.<br /><br />Park Hee-jun, Arirang News. <br />
