Police have imposed a travel ban on independent lawmaker Lee Chun-seok, who is facing allegations of stock proxy transactions, and have begun a search and seizure operation.
The Financial Crime Investigation Team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to the office of Lee in the National Assembly's 의원회관 (Committee Hall) in Yeongdeungpo District on the 11th to secure materials from Lee and his aide, a person surnamed Cha.
Lee and aide Cha are under suspicion of violating the Financial Real Name Law and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, and it is reported that a travel ban has also been placed on them.
On the day of the operation, the aides initially prevented police from entering, but soon opened the door, allowing the police search to proceed. Lee is reported to be absent from the office.
It is known that the police completed search and seizure operations at a total of eight locations, including Lee's district office in Jeonbuk Iksan-gab and his residence in Iksan over the past weekend. In addition, searches were conducted on financial institutions, including Mirae Asset Securities, which are suspected of being involved in proxy transactions, and transaction records have been secured.
The police plan to summon Lee and aide Cha for questioning as soon as the analysis of the seized items is concluded.
Lee, who was a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was captured in a photo on the 4th trading stocks under the name of a person surnamed Cha during a session of the National Assembly. The photo allegedly shows Lee trading shares of Naver and LG CNS, which are related to artificial intelligence (AI). This has raised concerns about a conflict of interest given that he is the head of the economic division responsible for AI policy at the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning.
After the controversy erupted, Lee voluntarily left the Democratic Party and resigned from his position as chair of the Judiciary Committee and as the head of the division at the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning.
Separately from the current allegations, the police are also investigating the situation in which Lee was captured on camera trading stocks under a person surnamed Cha's name during the National Assembly's audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Oct. 7 last year at the Government Sejong Office.
The dedicated investigation team said in a media notice that they will conduct the investigation strictly in accordance with the law and principles.