"Over 100 Million Won for City Council Nomination"... Police Arrest 1,727 in 'Corruption Crime Crackdown'

Crackdown on Four Major Corruption Crimes Including Bribery of Public Officials... 25 Arrested
Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency Arrests 382
Police Agency "Actively Promoting Legal Amendments and System Improvements"

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency sent a former National Assembly member to the prosecution for receiving 150 million won and demanding 200 million won in exchange for city council nomination ahead of the local elections, and sent five current city council members who provided the money to the prosecution without detention. The Ulsan Police Agency Ulju Police Station sent a Grade 7 public official to the prosecution for embezzling 212 million won by inputting false quality information and executing the budget for coin investment.

On the 24th, the National Police Agency announced that it arrested a total of 1,727 people for four major corruption crimes including bribery of public officials and financial corruption, among whom 25 were detained.

The National Police Agency conducted a special crackdown on four major corruption crimes involving public officials from September 13 last year to March 31 this year, a period of 200 days. The main targets of the crackdown were bribery, financial corruption, abuse of authority, and illicit mediation or solicitation.

It was found that financial corruption offenders who use taxpayers' money for private gain accounted for 997 people (57.7%), more than half of the total. They were followed by abuse of authority with 361 people (20.9%), bribery with 268 people (15.5%), and illicit mediation or solicitation with 101 people (5.8%).

Looking into the details of financial corruption offenders, subsidy fraud and embezzlement cases were the most numerous with 858 people. In addition, there were 103 cases of improper intervention or instruction, 100 cases of bribery involving public officials, and 98 cases of document forgery or obstruction of official duties.

According to the arrest status by city and provincial police agencies, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency achieved the highest performance by arresting a total of 382 people, accounting for 22.1% of the total arrests. Ulsan had 198, Seoul 177, Gyeongnam 161, Daegu 132, Jeonbuk 115, and Gangwon 89 arrests.

Among all public officials, 85.4% (305 people) were found to be national or local government employees. Among them, Grade 5 or lower public officials, classified as middle managers and practitioners, accounted for the majority with 276 people. The police stated that as a result of strict crackdowns on corruption crimes using the social status and power relations of politicians and high-ranking officials, a total of 48 people were arrested, including four former local government heads, 15 local council members, and 29 public officials of Grade 4 or higher.

The National Police Agency said, "To eradicate corruption crimes, we will not stop at crackdowns but actively promote the enactment and revision of related laws and institutional improvements through cooperation with related organizations," and urged, "If you become aware of corruption, please actively report it to the nearest police station."

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