An active police officer was arrested in June on suspicion of receiving a bribe of about 200 million won from a person involved in a case. However, it has recently come to light that this officer allegedly received tens of millions of won from another person involved in the case. The prosecution added bribery charges against this officer on the 31st.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 1 (Director General Kim Seung-ho) announced that it has added charges against Police Officer Jeong Mo (52) for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), among other allegations.
Police Officer Jeong is accused of receiving 211.2 million won from individual A in exchange for not prosecuting or dismissing A's case, which was being investigated for multiple counts of fraud from June 2020 to February 2021. He was arrested and indicted last month.
However, the prosecution has identified that Officer Jeong also allegedly received tens of millions of won in bribes from three other people involved in the case. According to the prosecution, Officer Jeong received 30 million won from Yoon Mo (63), who was being investigated for fraud, in exchange for not prosecuting him in November 2020.
Additionally, Officer Jeong is also accused of borrowing 35 million won and receiving 6.3 million won from Kim Mo (64), who operated a karaoke room, in exchange for covering up an incident in which Kim was caught for illegal operations between 2017 and September 2021. Officer Jeong is also accused of receiving 4 million won from Kim Mo (54), who filed a complaint regarding fraud, in May 2021.
The prosecution regards Jeong's fellow officer, Kim Mo (50), as an accomplice and has indicted him without detention on bribery charges. Kim is alleged to have assisted Officer Jeong in the initial case that led to his arrest and indictment. Investigations revealed that Kim sent false text messages to Officer Jeong, claiming to be the officer in charge of A's case, stating something like, 'It seems that a warrant for A's arrest will be requested.'
It is reported that Officer Jeong and Kim have worked together at the same police station 15 years ago. The two were members of a fund-raising group and have had financial transactions totaling 1.7 billion won over the past five years. In 2020, when Officer Jeong was unable to contribute funds to the group, Kim, the group leader, is said to have incurred debts. The prosecution believes this led Kim to become involved in Officer Jeong's criminal activities.