Seoul's Central District Prosecutors' Office is investigating allegations against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon related to false claims about his daughter's qualifications.
According to legal sources on October 16, the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit has assigned the case involving Han, who faces charges of third-party bribery, evidence tampering, and obstruction of justice, to its anti-corruption investigation division.
The civic group Judicial Justice Restoration Citizen Action (Sasaehang) filed a complaint against Han and three others, including his spouse, attorney Jin Eun-jung, the previous day. The group claimed, "Despite related reports and complaints from civic organizations, proper investigations have not been conducted."r />
Allegations surfaced that while Han was a candidate for Minister of Justice in 2022, he facilitated the donation of a used laptop from a company to benefit his daughter’s qualifications, allowing it to be donated to a welfare center. There were also claims that his daughter plagiarized and had someone ghostwrite her paper for an international academic conference, as well as inflated her volunteer hours.
In May of the same year, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received a complaint regarding the allegations of obstruction of justice and abuse of authority, but decided not to pursue the case in December 2023, citing insufficient evidence.
However, it was recently revealed that during the investigation, the police requested the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to apply for international judicial cooperation, but the prosecution decided not to forward this request to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Justice, sparking further controversy. Han is also suspected of having influenced the prosecution's decision while serving as Minister of Justice.
On October 15, the Minseong Economic Research Institute and Seoul's Voice submitted a complaint to the National Police Agency and the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, urging an investigation into Han and prosecutors involved in the alleged cover-up for abuse of authority and dereliction of duty.
These organizations stated, "This case involves the family of the then-Minister of Justice, and the rejection of the international judicial cooperation request occurred during Han's tenure as minister. If it is confirmed that Han was involved in the approval and reporting process, he could be considered a co-conspirator as a public official."
The complaint was transferred to the Seoul Police Agency on the same day, and the agency is expected to review the details before assigning the case.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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