A conflict-of-interest controversy is brewing after it became known that the police investigation chief who had been investigating comedian Park Na-rae joined the law firm where Park's legal representative works immediately after leaving the force.
According to The Chosun Ilbo on the 19th, A, who served as chief of the criminal division at the Seoul Gangnam Police Station since December last year, retired last month and joined a major law firm earlier this month that is representing Park.
The Gangnam Station criminal division has been investigating Park since December last year over allegations including assaulting a manager and violating the Medical Service Act. The investigation chief who received the reports later became affiliated with the law firm representing the suspect.
A told The Chosun Ilbo, "As criminal division chief, I did not issue specific investigation directives in the Park Na-rae case, and after moving to the law firm, I have not been involved in the case."
A representative of the law firm also said, "Nine days before the Park case was filed with Gangnam Station, A had already been interviewed and the decision to hire had been made."
In legal circles, some note there is a high potential for a conflict of interest because A had been the official receiving reports on the substance and direction of the probe. Under the current Public Service Ethics Act, retired public officials seeking employment at an institution closely related to their former department must undergo a prior employment review.
Moves by former police officials to law firms have been on the rise since the 2021 adjustment of investigative authority between prosecutors and police. The number of retired police who applied for jobs at law firms increased more than threefold, from 10 in 2020 to 36 in 2025.