Detective Superintendent Baek Haeryong, who was dispatched to the joint investigation team for the "Customs drug investigation pressure allegations," criticized the team as an "illegal organization" on his first day of work.
Detective Superintendent Baek Haeryong, who was assigned to the joint investigation team regarding the Customs drug investigation pressure allegations, is answering questions from reporters as he arrives for his first day at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 16th, in front of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, Baek stated, "I have consistently argued that the joint investigation team is an illegally formed organization, and now that I am reporting for duty there, my convictions as a public official are being shaken."
He continued, "The prosecution's top leadership is implicated in the pressure allegations as the subject of the investigation. If the person responsible for the investigation is pressured by someone in power, that person must also be investigated. It does not make sense for the victim of the pressure to be separated from the investigation."
Baek has strongly objected to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office's decision to assign him to a separate five-person team and to exclude the "pressure" aspect from his investigation duties, calling it "insulting." However, regarding criticism that he is "not following the instructions of his superior," he said, "That is not true. I am currently fulfilling my duty to report to work as ordered by the personnel directive."
He also said he does not "communicate" with Im Eunjeong, the head of the joint investigation team at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and added, "I have always greatly respected my predecessors who retired honorably, and I wonder if I should quietly follow in their footsteps."
Although Baek's official assignment to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office was issued the previous day, he took annual leave due to a previously scheduled television appearance.
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