The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials launched a search and seizure on the 26th targeting Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki. The CIO said it sent prosecutors and investigators to Min's office at KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in connection with allegations of dereliction of duty by Min, and that they are "conducting a search and seizure."
The CIO's Fourth Investigation Division (headed by Chief Prosecutor Cha Jung-hyun) is investigating allegations that Special Prosecutor Min handled a probe related to the Unification Church in a biased manner. The CIO is said to be focusing on allegations that Min pursued an investigation mainly into politicians from the People Power Party even though he had secured statements to the effect that politicians from the Democratic Party of Korea also received money and valuables from the Unification Church side.
According to the CIO's account, in Aug., based on testimony from former Unification Church World Headquarters head Yoon Young-ho, Special Prosecutor Min secured statements that around 2018 to 2020, former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo was provided two luxury watches and tens of millions of won as a request fee to resolve church agenda items such as promoting a Korea-Japan undersea tunnel. Yoon is also known to have testified to the effect that money and valuables were delivered to former Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Jong-seong and former United Future Party lawmaker Kim Kyu-hwan.
However, regarding opposition-party lawmakers, Special Prosecutor Min did not launch a formal investigation and left the matter only in an investigation report, then early last month assigned an internal case number and was said to have reviewed the possibility of applying bribery or Political Funds Act violations in connection with indications of money and valuables changing hands.
The Korean National Police Agency's special task investigation team, which received the related complaint, transferred the case to the CIO under the CIO Act, and the CIO on the 19th assigned the case and decided to begin an investigation. After interviewing former headquarters head Yoon at the Seoul Detention Center on the 23rd, the CIO, a week into the start of the investigation, carried out the search and seizure on this day, accelerating the probe.