Police on the 13th said they would dispatch Superintendent Baek Hae-ryong, the whistleblower in the "customs drug investigation pressure allegations," to the investigative team if prosecutors request it, in connection with President Lee Jae-myung's order to assign Baek to the team.
Acting Commissioner General Yoo Jae-seong said at a regular press briefing on the 13th, in response to related questions, "If the agency receiving the dispatch requests it, we will review it," offering this reply. As prosecutors are currently conducting an investigation through a team in which related agencies jointly participate, it is interpreted to mean that if a request is made as a matter of procedure, Baek would be sent in the form of an additional dispatch.
The presidential office said the previous day in a notice that President Lee ordered reinforcement of the investigative team, including the dispatch of Superintendent Baek, to the joint investigation unit at the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office that is investigating the pressure allegations.
The customs drug investigation pressure allegations concern claims that in Jan. 2023, during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, senior officials at the presidential office, police, and the Korea Customs Service exerted pressure to cover up a case after police obtained testimony that Incheon Customs officials were involved in a methamphetamine smuggling crime.
In June, prosecutors formed a joint investigation team at the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office with the police, the National Tax Service, and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and conducted searches and seizures of Incheon Customs and the Narcotics and Organized Crime Investigation Division at the National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency.