Prosecutors Request Arrest Warrant for Investigator in Ssangbangwool 'Investigation Data Leak' Case

Prosecutor-turned investigator and Ssangbangwool executive also faces arrest warrant request... Leak of search and seizure information

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The prosecution has requested arrest warrants for an investigator from the investigation team and an executive of Ssangbangwool Group on charges of leaking investigation secrets related to Ssangbangwool Group.

The Criminal Division 1 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Son Jin-wook) on the 5th requested arrest warrants for Investigator A, belonging to the Criminal Division 6 of the same office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam), which is investigating the flow of funds of Ssangbangwool Group, and Executive B of Ssangbangwool.

Investigator A is suspected of leaking confidential investigation information about the account seizure warrant to Executive B of Ssangbangwool Group (violation of official secrets). Executive B is known to be a former prosecutor investigator and has a close relationship with A.

The Suwon District Court is conducting a warrant hearing for A and others from 2:30 p.m. today. It is expected that the decision on whether to issue the arrest warrants will be made late tonight.

The Criminal Division 1 confirmed signs that investigation materials related to Ssangbangwool were recently leaked externally and is conducting an internal inspection targeting the Criminal Division 6. The Criminal Division 1 also conducted a search of the Criminal Division 6 office today. On the 2nd, investigators were sent to Ssangbangwool headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to secure related materials to verify whether Ssangbangwool Group was involved in leaking investigation secrets.

With this, the number of investigators suspected of leaking investigation secrets has reached two. Besides the investigator for whom the arrest warrant was requested today, another investigator from Criminal Division 6 suspected of leaking investigation secrets has already been transferred to a non-investigation department. The Criminal Division 6 is investigating the suspicious flow of funds of Ssangbangwool, having received related data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), including the process of selling convertible bonds (CB) worth 4.5 billion KRW issued by Ssangbangwool in 2020.

Meanwhile, separately from the Criminal Division 6, the Public Investigation Division of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Won-doo) is investigating allegations of proxy payment of legal fees for Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. The proxy payment allegations involve claims that large legal fees were paid on behalf of Lee by Ssangbangwool Group’s convertible bonds and other means to lawyers handling Lee’s violation of the Public Official Election Act case in 2018, when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province.

The prosecution is reportedly conducting the investigation with the possibility in mind that this case and the suspicious flow of funds of Ssangbangwool may be connected.

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