Search of Office of Choi Young-hwan, Gwangju City Council Member Who Fled Abroad Amid 'Bribery Allegations'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The police conducted a search and seizure at the office of Gwangju City Council member Choi Young-hwan, who fled overseas after being investigated on charges of bribery.

The Gwangju Western Police Station executed a search warrant at Councilman Choi's office on the 29th.

Five investigators secured computer hard drives and documents, and are currently focusing on analyzing the seized items.

Councilman Choi is accused of receiving tens of millions of won in bribes from acquaintance A, who operates a kindergarten.

The police believe that A received a bribe worth hundreds of millions of won from B, a person in the same industry, regarding the conversion of a private kindergarten into a public type, and that part of this was delivered to Councilman Choi.

Councilman Choi left for the Philippines on the 2nd, the day after being summoned for police questioning.

The police are trying to persuade Councilman Choi to voluntarily return through his family and acquaintances, but have not yet been able to contact him.

The police have applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invalidate his passport and are tracking his whereabouts. They are also considering applying for a pre-arrest warrant and seeking cooperation from Interpol depending on the situation.