Police transfer complaint over alleged cover-up of investigation into Han Dong-hoon's daughter to Seoul agency; “Case to be assigned after review”

[Financial News] A case involving a complaint accusing independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon of quashing a police investigation into allegations of his daughter's “fake credentials” while he was serving as justice minister has been transferred to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said in a media notice on the 16th that a complaint related to allegations that Han had quashed an investigation, which was filed with the National Police Agency, was transferred to and received by the Seoul agency the previous day (the 15th). The agency said, “We plan to assign the case after carefully reviewing its contents.”
Earlier, four civic groups, including the Institute for People's Livelihood Economy and Voice of Seoul, filed a complaint on the 14th with the National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency against Han and prosecutors suspected of involvement in quashing the investigation at the time, on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, and dereliction of duty.
The civic groups argued that it was an unusual move for prosecutors not to forward the police request for international cooperation to a higher-level agency, and that the decision-making process at the time needed to be investigated. They also asked authorities to establish the approval and reporting channels at the time, the communications between the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and whether the chain of command was involved.
The allegations are that Han's daughter commissioned someone to ghostwrite a paper and published a plagiarized e-book to apply to prestigious U.S. universities.
In May 2022, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit received a complaint over allegations that Han's daughter had falsified her credentials; Han was then justice minister. In November that year, the unit requested international legal assistance from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to verify materials located in the United States in connection with suspected copyright infringement.
However, in December that year, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office did not forward the request to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office or the Ministry of Justice, citing insufficient grounds to demonstrate the need for cooperation and a low likelihood that the U.S. side would fulfill the request, among other reasons.
The police later analyzed 11 items of material obtained by requesting them from overseas academic conferences and other organizations, without making any further requests for international cooperation or applying for search and seizure warrants. On December 28, 2023, they decided not to refer any of the 11 allegations involving the lawmaker's family to prosecutors and closed the case.
The allegation of obstruction of business was dismissed for lack of suspicion on the grounds that the academic conference to which Han's daughter's paper had been submitted had not conducted a review. The copyright infringement allegation—that an e-book had been produced and sold using plagiarized material—was dismissed as “no right to prosecute” because the original author had not filed a complaint.
At the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency the previous day, lawmakers also criticized the investigation at the time as inadequate. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Go Beom-seok replied, “The investigation at the time was conducted in accordance with the law and principles,” adding, “I will check whether there were any shortcomings.”
At the National Assembly's audit of the National Police Agency on the 12th, acting National Police Agency Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol also said, “I think we should have made a more active effort to establish the substantive truth,” and said he would consider reopening the investigation if new facts were confirmed.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter