Search of Jeonguiyeon over 'Accounting Fraud' Allegations Ends After 12 Hours (Summary)

On the 21st, prosecutors were moving seized items at the Justice Memory Solidarity office in Mapo-gu. The prosecution conducted a search and seizure of Justice Memory Solidarity in connection with allegations of poor accounting and the high-priced purchase of the Anseong shelter.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The prosecution's sudden search and seizure of the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeon) concluded after 12 hours. Since the search was conducted just six days after the prosecution began investigating Jeonguiyeon, the investigation appears to be progressing swiftly from the outset.

The Criminal Division 4 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jiseok Choi), which is investigating the mismanagement of Jeonguiyeon's donation accounting and suspicions of partial embezzlement, completed the search and seizure of Jeonguiyeon's office located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the office of the former organization, the Council for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop), at around 5:30 a.m. on the 22nd, 12 hours after the operation began.

Earlier, civic groups such as the Action Alliance for the Restoration of the Rule of Law filed complaints with the prosecution against Jeonguiyeon and its former director Yoon Mee-hyang, a proportional representative elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, accusing them of embezzlement of donations and suspicions of overpriced purchase of the 'Anseong Shelter' in Gyeonggi Province.

The prosecution decided to conduct a direct investigation without transferring the complaints to the police for investigation supervision. It is known that they will examine the use of Jeonguiyeon's donations and the suspicions surrounding the overpriced purchase of the Anseong Shelter for the comfort women. The prosecution reportedly secured accounting and various project-related documents through this search and seizure. Additionally, search warrants for the accounts of Jeonguiyeon and elected member Yoon were also issued, and the prosecution has begun verifying the deposit and withdrawal details of donations and other funds.

Jeonguiyeon expressed regret over the prosecution's search and seizure, stating, "We express regret over the search and seizure conducted during the external accounting verification process," but added, "Nevertheless, we hope that the suspicions raised so far will be promptly resolved through a fair investigative procedure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.