Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol Orders Major Reinforcement of Optimus Investigation Team... Full-Scale Probe into 'Lobbying Allegations' Expected

Last Week's Approval of Prosecutor Dispatch Request to Central District Prosecutors' Office Followed by Additional Reinforcement Order Today

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has ordered a significant increase in personnel for the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office’s Optimus case investigation team.

On the 12th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, “Last week, the Prosecutor General instructed the expansion of the Optimus investigation team, approving the Central District Prosecutors' Office’s request for prosecutor dispatch as is, and the procedure is currently underway. Today, after receiving a report on the investigation status, he further ordered a substantial increase in the investigation team’s personnel.”

On the 8th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office accepted the request for additional personnel from the Economic Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Joo Min-cheol), which is investigating this case, and requested the Ministry of Justice’s approval to dispatch four prosecutors to the investigation team. It is reported that most of the four prosecutors requested for dispatch are ‘specialists’ with extensive experience in financial investigations.

The increase in investigation team personnel appears to be aimed at probing the recently surfaced allegations of political and governmental lobbying by Optimus Asset Management.

The Prosecutors’ Work Regulations stipulate that if a prosecutor’s dispatch period exceeds one month, approval from the Minister of Justice is required.

The Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutor Bureau plans to decide on the dispatch soon, considering the staffing situation of the prosecutors’ offices to which the prosecutors belong.

Recent media reports revealed that during the Optimus raid, the investigation team secured a document titled ‘Fund Defect Remedy’ which included details that government and ruling party officials participated as project beneficiaries, listing the number of Blue House and ruling party lawmakers involved, as well as some real names of certain individuals.

Additionally, a similar document submitted by Yoon Mo, a director (lawyer) of Optimus who was indicted and detained, reportedly contains information that former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Heon-jae and former Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook, who served as advisers to Optimus, played certain roles.

There have also been allegations that the prosecution did not record statements from related parties supporting the contents of these documents in the investigation records during the investigation process.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, “We are thoroughly investigating all suspicions related to the Optimus private equity fund in accordance with law and principles, and last week, we proposed to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to reinforce the investigation team for a faster and more focused investigation.”

They added, “Based on today’s Supreme Prosecutors' Office instructions, the investigation status, and consultations with the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we will actively propose an additional increase in the investigation team.”

Furthermore, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office emphasized, “From the trial starting on the 16th, we will seek the maximum possible sentences within the scope of law and sentencing guidelines against the defendants to ensure strict punishment, while also making every effort to recover criminal proceeds for the victims.”

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