Police Launch Investigation into Former Guro Chief Moon Heon-il on Neglect of Duty Charges

Negligence of Duty, Fraud, and Breach of Trust in the Course of Business

The police have launched an investigation into former Seoul Guro District Mayor Moon Heon-il, who resigned after refusing to place stocks worth approximately 17 billion KRW in a blind trust.

Il Moon-il, Guro District Mayor. Yonhap News

On the 21st, the Seoul Guro Police Station announced that they are investigating former Mayor Moon on charges of dereliction of duty, fraud, and breach of trust in the course of business.

Former Mayor Moon is accused of neglecting his duties without justifiable reason, including resigning to avoid the decision to place his stocks in a blind trust.

The civic group "Moon Heon-il Blind Trust Refusal Resignation Accountability Guro Citizens' Action" (Guro Citizens' Action) filed a complaint against former Mayor Moon at the Seoul Guro Police Station that morning.

Guro Citizens' Action criticized, "Following former Mayor Moon's resignation, Guro District paid 2.73 billion KRW in by-election management expenses to the Guro District Election Commission," adding, "Public funds amounting to 3 billion KRW are being wasted for personal gain." They further stated, "Since he failed to fulfill the duties assigned to him as mayor and abandoned his obligations, the elements of dereliction of duty are met," and urged investigative and judicial authorities to conduct a swift investigation and impose strict punishment for former Mayor Moon's crimes.

Earlier, former Mayor Moon resigned from his position on the 15th of last month, aiming to protect the stocks he held. Moon is the founder of Moon Engineering, a company established in 1990 that engages in information and communication design, supervision, and IT consulting. In March of last year, the Personnel Innovation Department's Blind Trust Review Committee ruled that Moon Engineering's stocks were related to the mayoral duties. Moon filed a lawsuit contesting this decision but lost consecutively in the first and second trials, ultimately choosing to resign. It is reported that the stocks he was required to sell had a face value of 240 million KRW.