'Seongnam FC Investigation Conflict' Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young Retires Today "Police Will Conduct Thorough Investigation"

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch, who had been leading the investigation into the bribery allegations involving sponsorship funds for the civic professional football team 'Seongnam FC,' is moving to his office ahead of his retirement. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Park Ha-young (47, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 31), Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch, who triggered a reinvestigation into the 'Seongnam FC Sponsorship Fund Suspicion' with a single resignation letter, left the prosecution today. He said, "I believe the police will conduct a thorough investigation."

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park retired honorably at 11 a.m. on the 10th in the conference room of the Seongnam Branch office. After the retirement ceremony, as he left the building, he said regarding the progress of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's fact-finding investigation related to the 'Seongnam FC investigation cover-up suspicion,' "It is not appropriate to comment," and added, "I believe it is right for the process to proceed accordingly."

Park Eun-jung, Chief Prosecutor of the Seongnam Branch, who had conflicts with Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park over the investigation direction, also attended the retirement ceremony. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park stated, "We just exchanged greetings. We wished each other well for the success of our office." He added, "I expressed my gratitude at the retirement ceremony and made the usual request to build a good office," and said, "I have no special plans going forward and intend to spend time comfortably with my family."

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park submitted his resignation on the 25th of last month while leading the investigation into the 'Seongnam FC Sponsorship Fund Suspicion' case. The case involves allegations that six companies paid approximately 16 billion won in sponsorship funds to Seongnam FC from 2015 to 2017 under the pretext of advertising expenses and other fees.

He posted on the prosecution's internal network, "I am leaving a little earlier than I had thought. I tried to find other ways to continue working, but after much consideration and response, there was no other option."

It is known that Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park expressed his intention to resign after repeatedly recommending to Chief Prosecutor Park the need for a reinvestigation or supplementary investigation into the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund case, which was not accepted.

Following Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park's resignation, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo ordered the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances of the investigation cover-up suspicion. Subsequently, on the 7th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office instructed the Seongnam Branch to conduct a supplementary investigation. The Seongnam Branch then requested the Bundang Police Station, which initially investigated the case, to carry out the supplementary investigation the day before yesterday.

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