The police have launched an investigation into two investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's seizure division, who have been accused of perjury before the National Assembly in connection with the loss of the "Gunjin Monk cash bundle band" during an incident.
On September 16, the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it had booked Kim Jungmin and Nam Kyungmin, investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, on charges of violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly. The complaint alleges that Kim and Nam coordinated their testimonies in advance before a National Assembly hearing and gave false statements during the session.
In December of last year, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office secured 165 million won in cash while searching the home of Jeon Seongbae, known as Gunjin Monk. However, during the investigation, they lost the cash bundle band and sticker attached to 50 million won. A cash bundle band refers to sealed currency supplied by the Bank of Korea to commercial banks. The band and sticker display the date of inspection, the code of the person in charge, the processing department, and the machine identification number, and are used to trace the flow of funds.
On September 5, during the "Prosecution Reform Legislative Hearing" held by the Subcommittee on Bill Review 1 of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, investigators Kim and Nam, who appeared as witnesses, stated regarding the circumstances of the loss of the cash bundle band, "We do not remember. We were never instructed to preserve the original form." During the hearing, it was revealed that the two had coordinated their answers to anticipated questions and prepared model answers together at Nam's home a week before the hearing, leading to controversy over alleged perjury conspiracy.
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