Former Minhwahyeop Executive Sent to Prosecution on Suspicion of Transferring Salt Support Project Subsidies to North Korea

The police investigating allegations that an executive of the National Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (Minhwahyeop) handed over tens of millions of won in subsidies for a salt support project to North Korean officials have arrested the executive and referred him to the prosecution.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated at a press briefing on the 23rd, "On the 20th, we transferred the former head of Minhwahyeop's External Cooperation Team to the prosecution," adding, "We are continuing investigations into other related individuals."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been investigating former Minhwahyeop External Cooperation Team head Um Mo, who oversaw Minhwahyeop's salt support project to North Korea in 2019, after detecting circumstances in which he delivered a total of 200,000 yuan (37 million won) to officials at the North Korean Embassy in China. The police have booked Um, executives of the entrusted company, and Minhwahyeop, and Um was arrested on the 12th on charges including violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

Minhwahyeop, a North Korea support organization, received a subsidy of 500 million won from Jeollanam-do in 2019 and commissioned a private company to carry out a project to supply salt to North Korea. Um joined Minhwahyeop while working as a private company official involved in the project. The project was reportedly effectively halted early on as it failed to obtain government approval for the export of goods. The police estimate that approximately 475 million won was embezzled, as the funds were not used for salt purchases.

Regarding allegations of manipulation of Korean football support comments during the Asian Games on the internet portal Daum earlier this month, an investigation is underway. A police official explained, "We began pre-booking investigations on the 4th, and on the 6th, a complaint was received from Kakao," adding, "We are conducting necessary investigations to identify suspects."

Investigations into suspected abuse of narcotics at hospitals and clinics, including the so-called 'Rolls-Royce Man' case, are also expanding. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently investigating 21 hospitals and clinics and 13 patients based on a request from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. A police official said, "We are conducting joint crackdowns with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and others on excessive narcotics prescriptions and illegal patient use," adding, "Separately, we are collaborating with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to carry out additional inspections."

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