Daegu Police Caught in 'False Whistleblowing' Trap... How Deeply Are They Implicated?

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Audit Transfer

Daegu Regional Police Agency building exterior.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The prolonged and excessive investigation into Daegu Samhwa Food's 'fabricated whistleblowing' case has ultimately caused a critical blow, casting complete doubt on the morality and trustworthiness of the Daegu police.

On the 18th, when news of the National Police Agency's search and seizure at frontline police stations in Daegu became known, there was a self-deprecating reflection and lament within the Daegu police, expressing that "what was bound to come has come." On the 11th, the National Police Agency dispatched investigators to the Daegu Seongseo Police Station and seized police officers' mobile phones along with investigation materials. It is extremely rare for the National Police Agency to conduct an internal investigation on police officers who are themselves investigating a case, indicating that the repercussions are likely to be significant.

The day the National Police Agency conducted the search and seizure was the day after the Daegu Seongseo Police Station notified the company's lawyer of the closure of the investigation with a 'no charges' decision regarding the person allegedly orchestrating the case behind the scenes. The police investigation into Samhwa Food, a local company in Daegu, had already become a major issue in the local community due to suspicious aspects from the outset.

Earlier this year, the Seongseo Police Station, which received a tip from company insiders, concluded after a preliminary investigation that it was 'worthless intelligence' and closed the internal inquiry. However, shortly thereafter, the Daegu Police Agency separately continued an investigation for four months, drawing criticism of a 'targeted investigation.'

The Daegu Police Agency's investigation began on January 23 following allegations by a certain media outlet that expired products returned by customers were reprocessed and sold. On the day the report was released, the Daegu Food and Drug Administration and Dalseo District Office formed a joint investigation team and conducted an on-site inspection at the Samhwa Food Seongseo factory but found no issues and withdrew.

However, since February, the Daegu Police Agency's investigation division has conducted two search and seizures of the factory and summoned about 20 employees for questioning, carrying out a broad investigation into possible violations of the Food Sanitation Act.

During this intensive investigation, the case was revealed to be a meticulously planned 'fabricated insider whistleblowing' from the start, as multiple employees directly involved made successive conscience declarations. One employee even filmed a video showing bugs crawling around the supposed site of the returned product recycling. In a second police interview, this employee confessed that "all actions were due to the persuasion and pressure from former General Affairs Manager A."

Former General Affairs Manager A, who was dismissed in February after being identified as the person who coerced and pressured company employees, was reported to the police at the end of March on charges including attempted extortion and commercial secret infringement. The core of the accusation was that "A demanded a large sum of money during a meeting with the company representative's wife." A recording of A saying, "If I don't handle this, it will be reported by other broadcasts," was also submitted as evidence.

The result was no charges. About a month after receiving the complaint, the police summoned A for the first time in early May and dismissed both the evidence and the employees' statements that they were being manipulated behind the scenes. The police judged that the recorded demand for money "felt like a natural conversation in the situation," according to a police phone notification.

This announcement by the frontline police station became a decisive trigger in the ongoing four-month controversy over the Daegu Police Agency's 'targeted investigation' and 'lenient investigation.' Given these circumstances, issues raised by the company such as disclosure of suspect information, leakage of investigation secrets, human rights violations, and coercive investigation are expected to be included in the National Police Agency's investigation list regarding the Daegu police.

An anonymous Daegu police officer said, "Since no conclusive evidence of (sanitation law violations) was found, dragging the case on for so long has strongly invited unnecessary misunderstandings," adding, "To see the police station under investigation even subjected to a search and seizure by the National Police Agency..." and was at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, the Board of Audit and Inspection is also expected to soon designate an agency to transfer the civil complaint investigation regarding Samhwa Food, suggesting that the controversy over the Daegu police's excessive investigation into Samhwa Food will continue to escalate.

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