The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division, which is investigating allegations of bribery involving a current police executive, sent prosecutors and investigators to the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to conduct a search and seizure.
On the 29th, the 3rd Investigation Division of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Song Chang-jin) sent prosecutors and investigators to the home and office of Section Chief A, who was in charge of the Daewoo Industrial Development investigation, to secure work records, PC hard drives, and other materials.
The search and seizure targets reportedly included both the Financial Crime Investigation Unit, where Section Chief A worked at the time of the incident, and the current workplace, the International Crime Investigation Unit.
Earlier, Section Chief A worked as the head of Investigation Team 2 in the Financial Crime Investigation Unit until early this year and was responsible for investigating allegations of accounting fraud and breach of trust at Daewoo Industrial Development.
The police became aware of the case in January last year following a complaint from a civic group, and in April of the same year, they launched a full-scale investigation by conducting search and seizure operations at Daewoo Industrial Development's Incheon headquarters and Seoul branch. The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division believes that Lee Sang-young, chairman of Daewoo Industrial Development, who felt pressured, contacted Police Superintendent Kim, who was then working at the Gangwon Police Agency, and promised to pay 300 million won in exchange for halting the investigation.
The chairman actually handed over 120 million won in cash to Superintendent Kim, and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division's view is that Superintendent Kim requested Section Chief A, who was in charge of the investigation, to intervene in the case. Superintendent Kim and Section Chief A worked together at the Seoul Suseo Police Station in 2019.
During recent investigations of related parties and analysis of seized materials, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division reportedly detected specific evidence that Superintendent Kim requested Section Chief A to exclude some of the chairman's charges from the investigation, and Section Chief A has been registered as a suspect. Once the analysis of the seized materials is complete, both Section Chief A and Superintendent Kim will be summoned for questioning.
Section Chief A was transferred to the International Crime Investigation Unit last month. Before the transfer, he applied for arrest warrants for the chairman and others, but the court dismissed the warrants, stating that "most of the criminal charges are substantiated," but also that "all relevant evidence has been secured and there is no risk of flight." The police forwarded the case to the prosecution without reapplying for the warrants.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
