'Investigation into Yonggu Incident' Forensic Work Underway... Seoul Police Chief: "Will Confirm Facts Even If It Takes Time"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The police are conducting verification work on witness statements and forensic investigation data regarding allegations of a botched investigation related to the assault incident involving Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu and a taxi driver.

On the morning of the 2nd, at a press briefing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Naejadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Jang Ha-yeon said, "Verification work is being carried out, including statements and forensic results." A total of 42 people, including the Seoul Seocho Police Station and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which were in charge of the incident at the time, are subjects of investigation. The mobile phones and office PCs of the Seocho Police Station chief and the head of the criminal division have entered forensic analysis. Regarding the timing of the truth investigation team's announcement, Commissioner Jang said, "It is a matter of accuracy rather than time," adding, "Even if it takes time, we are thoroughly verifying the facts regarding the raised suspicions."

Regarding the investigation into allegations of violation of the Anti-Graft Act (so-called Kim Young-ran Act) against Kim Jin-wook, head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (PCC), he said, "The investigation is underway after being handed over to the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency," and "The complainant's interview has been completed, and we are in the process of obtaining and verifying related materials." On whether the Anti-Graft Act violation charges will be applied, he said, "It is not at that stage yet." Earlier, the civic group Speculation Capital Watchdog Center accused Kim of gaining unfair capital gains during the acquisition of stocks of a KOSDAQ-listed company while serving at the Constitutional Court and filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Regarding former Seoul Gangnam Police Station Chief Park (Senior Superintendent), who is under inspection and internal investigation for alleged misconduct, he said, "Since the allegations concern misconduct at the Senior Superintendent level, we consider it serious and are thoroughly verifying the facts." Commissioner Jang said, "At this time, rather than speaking hypothetically, the focus is on ensuring that the inspection investigation is conducted accurately." Park is suspected of drinking alcohol while on duty and calling a subordinate female police officer to a drinking party during his tenure as head of the Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency from 2019 to 2020.

The police will begin a three-month intensive crackdown on drug offenders starting this month. Commissioner Jang said, "Checking Seoul crime statistics, there were about 1,600 arrests for violations of psychotropic drugs last year, and recently, drug offenses using the internet or social network services (SNS) have also been increasing," adding, "The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Drug Crime Investigation Unit and 10 police stations operate dedicated drug crime teams." The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plans to have the 21 police stations without dedicated drug teams operate one team from their violent crime units as dedicated teams to actively crack down.

The police will also have a focused response period for school violence in line with the new school term. Commissioner Jang explained, "Every year, when the new school term begins, we set a focused management period for school violence to strengthen field response capabilities," adding, "Since the COVID-19 situation continues this year, we will produce and utilize many crime prevention videos." Previously, School Police Officers (SPOs) gathered students to conduct lectures related to school violence, but reflecting the current difficulty of large gatherings, videos will be produced and distributed. Commissioner Jang emphasized, "We will also set specific times for focused patrols during school arrival and dismissal times by school security officers and child safety guardians," and "If reports of school violence come in, we will create a hotline linked with the education office to pay close attention to prevention, protection, and management."

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