Civic groups file complaint against Han Dong-hoon over alleged cover-up of probe into daughter’s ‘fake credentials’

[Financial News] Civic groups have filed a complaint against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and prosecutors who were serving at the time, over allegations that prosecutors blocked a police request for international criminal legal assistance during an investigation into allegations concerning his daughter’s so-called “fake credentials.”
On the 14th, four groups, including Voice of Seoul, the Institute for People’s Livelihood and Economic Research, and the Lawyers’ Group for Scrutinizing Prosecutors, said they would file a complaint with the National Office of Investigation and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency against Han and prosecutors involved in suppressing the investigation in 2022. The complaint alleges abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, dereliction of duty, and other offenses.
According to the complaint, in November 2022, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Public Crimes Investigation Unit requested international criminal legal assistance from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office to obtain materials located in the United States while investigating allegations that Han’s daughter had fabricated credentials. However, in December that year, prosecutors did not forward the request to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office or the Ministry of Justice, citing insufficient justification for the investigative need and a low likelihood that the U.S. side would provide the requested assistance.
After that, in December 2023, police decided not to refer 11 allegations involving Han’s family to prosecutors, without making any further requests for cooperation or conducting searches and seizures.
The complainants argued that prosecutors’ failure to forward the request for cooperation could amount to interference with the police’s exercise of their investigative authority. They also urged authorities to determine whether there had been involvement by those in the chain of command in the relevant approval and reporting process, given that Han was serving as justice minister at the time.
The complainants also said, however, that the publicly available information does not establish whether Han was directly involved in the decision not to forward the request for cooperation.

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter