Senior Official in Choi Moon-soon's Administration Found Dead Related to 'Legoland'

Found Six Days After Disappearance Following Prosecutor's Summons Notification

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] A former senior official of the Gangwon Provincial Government, Mr. A, who was scheduled for a prosecution summons investigation related to the Chuncheon Legoland project in Gangwon Province, was found dead six days after going missing.

The Chuncheon Police Department in Gangwon announced on the same day, "At around 2:20 p.m. on the 8th, Mr. A was found dead in a valley near the Samaksan Mountain hiking trail in Chuncheon."

The police deployed about 100 personnel to search after Mr. A's family reported him missing, and captured his image on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) of the Samaksan Mountain hiking trail.

In the early morning of the 2nd, Mr. A left home leaving behind his mobile phone and wallet. He served as the head of the Legoland Promotion Team in 2014 during his tenure.

Currently, the Chuncheon Legoland project is under investigation by authorities due to multiple complaints and petitions filed, and Mr. A had recently been notified to appear as a witness at the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office in connection with this but did not attend.

The police believe Mr. A jumped to his death in the valley and are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

Meanwhile, former Gangwon Governor Choi Moon-soon and Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation (GJC) are under police investigation following a citizen group’s accusation (reported by this paper on December 2) on charges including embezzlement of Legoland infrastructure construction costs.

The citizen group claimed, "During former Governor Choi’s tenure, GJC, a Gangwon Province-funded institution, allocated 18 billion KRW out of 47.5 billion KRW for the burial work of prehistoric relics (including sand purchase costs) in the Legoland infrastructure construction budget, but instead of using sand, various wastes from the construction site were buried."

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