MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim avoided detention Wednesday as the Seoul Central District Court dismissed prosecutors’ request for a warrant to detain him on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act, in connection with Homeplus’ controversial court-led rehabilitation filing. The warrants were also denied for MBK Vice Chairman and Homeplus CEO Kim Kwang-il, MBK Vice President Kim Jeong-hwan and Homeplus Chief Financial Officer Lee Sung-jin on the same charges. The court reportedly found room for dispute over the alleged offenses, concluding that the necessity and appropriateness of detention were difficult to justify at this stage. Arriving at the court at around 9:40 a.m. on Tuesday to attend detention hearings, the chairman entered the courtroom without responding to reporters’ questions about whether he had a message for investors or Homeplus employees or whether he acknowledged responsibility for the case. Prosecutors allege that the chairman and other MBK executives issued large v