"Luxury Business Trip Hospitality"... Police Mutual Aid Association Employees Under Investigation

Suspected of Receiving Airline Tickets and Hotel Accommodations Worth Tens of Millions of Won

It has been confirmed that employees of the Police Mutual Aid Association are under police investigation for allegedly receiving airline tickets and hotel accommodations worth tens of millions of won after attending investment seminars hosted by overseas asset management firms.

On December 22, the Mapo Police Station in Seoul announced that it is investigating Employee A, a team leader at the Alternative Investments Division of the Mutual Aid Association, and Employee B, a manager at the same division, on suspicion of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The Alternative Investments Division is responsible for investing and managing assets such as private equity, bonds, and real estate using police welfare funds.

Yonhap News Agency

Employee A is suspected of attending investment seminars hosted by overseas asset management firms on two occasions, in January and June of last year. On each occasion, A allegedly received round-trip business class airline tickets and five-star hotel accommodations worth approximately 9.6 million won and 12.2 million won, respectively.

It was also revealed that Employee B received airline tickets and hotel accommodations worth about 14.7 million won over the course of a week in March of last year.

The police are also looking into an investment seminar attended by Employee C, a deputy director-level staff member. The police have requested that Employee C submit documentation of the airfare and accommodation expenses that were covered when attending an annual meeting of a private equity trust company in November 2023.

Under the current Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, public officials and others are subject to criminal penalties of up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won if they receive money or valuables exceeding 1 million won at a time or 3 million won annually from the same person, regardless of whether it is related to their work or the stated purpose.

However, it is known that these individuals are not active police officers but rather employees who were hired through the Mutual Aid Association's own recruitment process.