'Seongnam FC Investigation Cover-up Allegation' Park Eun-jeong, Head of Seongnam Branch, Reported; Case Transferred to Suwon District Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office will handle the case of the accusation against Park Eun-jung, head of the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, who is suspected of covering up the investigation into Seongnam FC.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Anti-Corruption and Strong Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jo Ju-yeon) transferred the case against Park, who was accused of abuse of authority and obstruction of exercise of rights, to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office the day before. It is known that this decision was made to avoid duplicate investigations, considering that related investigations are already underway at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the relevant police station.

Earlier, the Citizens' Committee for the Protection of the Livelihood of Ordinary People filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in January, stating that Park did not accept several recommendations from Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young, who insisted that supplementary or direct investigations were necessary regarding the Seongnam FC allegations.

Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park resigned after his recommendations for the investigation were not accepted by higher-ups. Subsequently, as Park Eun-jung clashed with the investigation team, she revised the delegation and approval regulations within the office and adjusted the division of departmental duties, which further fueled suspicions.

The Action Alliance for the Restoration of the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) also filed a complaint last month with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials against Park Eun-jung, accusing her of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and violation of the Public Official Election Act in relation to former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park's resignation.

The Seongnam FC allegations involve former Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, who served as mayor of Seongnam from 2014 to 2016 and was the club owner of Seongnam FC, allegedly receiving approximately 16 billion won in quid pro quo sponsorship funds from companies such as Doosan and Naver. This allegation is currently under investigation by the Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, following supplementary investigation orders from the Seongnam branch.

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