Yoon Seok-yeol Orders Central District Prosecutors' Office to Thoroughly Investigate Optimus Lobbying Allegations

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has instructed the investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation into the 'Optimus Fund Fraud' suspicion case, it was reported on the 8th.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Prosecutor General Yoon recently received an investigation status report from the Economic Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Joo Min-cheol) and emphasized, "Investigate thoroughly, including the lobbying suspicions." It is reported that Prosecutor General Yoon does not receive reports on each document secured during the investigation but only receives overall investigation status reports.

Earlier, some media outlets raised suspicions that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office had secured testimonies and materials supporting lobbying suspicions involving Kim Jae-hyun, CEO of Optimus, but did not properly conduct the investigation or report to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. A prosecution official stated, "Reports from the investigation team were regularly made through the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division," but added, "It is difficult to confirm whether all the reported content is true or whether it pertains to the investigation."

Currently, the prosecution continues the investigation even after indicting CEO Kim Jae-hyun, sending prosecutors and investigators to the Hana Bank Custody Sales Department, the trustee of the Optimus Fund, on the 24th of last month to secure related materials. They are examining suspicions that former Optimus Alternative Investment CEO Jung Young-je lobbied to receive funding from the Korea Communications Agency. Recently, internal documents have been secured indicating that several government and ruling party officials are among the fund beneficiaries, and the prosecution is also verifying whether they were involved in the fund's formation and operation process.

Optimus is suspected of raising thousands of billions of won from investors by claiming to invest in public institution sales receivables, but in reality, forging documents and investing in loan companies and insolvent firms. Key figures, including CEO Kim and lawyer Yoon, were arrested and indicted in July on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), violation of the Capital Markets Act, and forgery of private documents. The first trial is scheduled for the 16th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Heo Seon-ah).

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