Is Baekhyeon-dong's Passive Investigation Blamed on Seongnam FC?

Seongnam Prosecution and Police, Internal Conflict at Seongnam Branch Influenced Case Transfer
Seemingly Burdened by Investigation Related to Lee Jae-myung

Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the People's Verification Special Committee of the People Power Party, and Representative Kim Eun-hye visited the so-called 'Retaining Wall Apartment' in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 2nd to inspect the site. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Byungseon Gong] An analysis suggests that the reason why the Seongnam prosecution and police decided to transfer the Baekhyeon-dong development allegation case instead of conducting a direct investigation is significantly influenced by internal conflicts arising from the Seongnam FC allegations.

The Seongnam FC allegations center on Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, who was the owner of Seongnam FC from 2015 to 2017 while serving as mayor of Seongnam. It is alleged that he received sponsorship funds totaling 16 billion KRW from six local companies including Doosan Construction, Naver, and NongHyup, and granted various special favors. The Bareunmirae Party filed a bribery accusation against Lee in June 2018 related to these allegations, initiating an investigation.

However, the Bundang Police Station in Seongnam dismissed the charges against Lee without indictment in September last year, after three years and three months. The accusers appealed the dismissal. Consequently, the police transferred the case to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch. The police faced criticism from the ruling party for an overtly lenient investigation toward their presidential candidate.

Internal conflicts arose at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch regarding the handling of this case. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young expressed the need for supplementary or reinvestigation but was blocked by Branch Chief Park Eun-jung, known for her pro-government stance, ultimately leading Park Ha-young to resign. Allegations of 'investigation cover-up' surfaced, and on the 3rd, the Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea (Hanbyun) filed a complaint against Branch Chief Park with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for dereliction of duty and abuse of authority.

The controversies related to the Seongnam FC allegations, which erupted after the police's dismissal in September last year, reportedly influenced the handling of the Baekhyeon-dong development allegation case involving the same accused. Having already endured turmoil over investigations involving the ruling party's presidential candidate, investigative agencies are analyzed to feel burdened by taking on another related case.

The Baekhyeon-dong development allegation case, dubbed the "second Daejang-dong scandal," has been under investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency since November last year, after the People Power Party filed a complaint accusing Lee of breach of duty. The case has passed through the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seongnam Branch, and Bundang Police Station in sequence. Throughout this process, the Seongnam Branch and Bundang Police Station have faced criticism for 'passing the buck' in their unclear explanations regarding the case transfer.

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