After suspicions arose over stock name transactions, police decided to form a dedicated investigation team regarding lawmaker Lee Chun-seok, who left the Democratic Party of Korea.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 7th that it had formed a dedicated investigation team of 25 members, led by Head of Team Ahn Yong-sik, which includes legal and financial tracking experts such as lawyers and accountants.
Lawmaker Lee is suspected of trading stocks under the name of his aide, Mr. Cha, in the National Assembly on the 4th. A media outlet captured moments of him trading stocks of Naver and LG CNS, which are related to artificial intelligence (AI) at the time. However, Lee is the head of the economic 2nd division responsible for AI policy in the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning, and the two companies he traded stocks of were included as operators for a major government project related to AI announced that day.
In response, civic groups including the People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee (Seominwi), Garosero Research Institute, and Freedom University filed a complaint against Lee with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for violating the Financial Real Name Law and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Law the day before. Prior to this, a complaint had also been filed with the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crimes Unit decided to conduct an all-in-one investigation into this complaint.
A police official noted that they plan to conduct a rigorous investigation according to the law and principles. Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation into this matter.