The standing special counsel team led by Ahn Kwon-seop, which has investigated the alleged disposal of "bundled banknote bands," said it did not confirm any indications supporting political claims that superiors ordered the disposal. Instead, it decided to refer the case to the competent Prosecution Service to continue the investigation.
At a briefing on the investigation results on Mar. 5, Special Counsel Ahn said, "The loss of the bundled banknote bands appears to be a work-related error caused by poor communication among those in charge and does not seem to warrant criminal punishment," adding, "We also did not confirm any objective circumstances that would go beyond suspicion and allow us to accept as fact the allegation that superiors ordered concealment of the disposal."
The alleged disposal of bundled banknote bands involves a case in which the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office in Dec. 2024 lost the bands and stickers that had wrapped 50 million won of the 165 million won in cash seized from the home of Jeon Seong-bae, known as "Geonjin." A bundled banknote pack is a set of new bills wrapped with dedicated bands and seal stickers, used when the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation (KOMSCO) delivers new bills to the Bank of Korea. It is distinguished from currency in general circulation.
The problem was that bundled banknotes were found at the home of Jeon, an ordinary private individual, yet prosecutors lost the bands—the key clue to tracing their source—during storage. This raised suspicions that there had been an "order from superiors" to destroy evidence, and determining this was a core task of the special counsel's probe.
Launched on Dec. 6 last year, the special counsel booked Lee Hee-dong, then the No. 1 deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, Park Geon-uk, head prosecutor of the Joint Investigation Division on Virtual Asset Crimes, Prosecutor Choi Jae-hyeon, and investigators on charges including destroying evidence, instigating the destruction of evidence, and dereliction of duty.
Although the special counsel investigated for 90 days through the day, it said it could not determine whether superiors had ordered the disposal of the bundled banknote bands. However, the investigation found that when the responsible prosecutor prepared the seizure inventory, they poorly recorded it as a simple "3,300 notes of 50,000 won" without indicating the bundled packaging or bands, and left the scene without checking whether the packaging or bands had been removed. It was also revealed that the seizure officer did not check for the presence of the packaging or bands when comparing the inventory with the actual seized items.
The special counsel explained, "The loss of the bundled banknote bands appears to be a work-related error stemming from differences in perception and a lack of communication between the two sides."
However, the special counsel noted that due to this prosecutorial failure in managing evidence, the possibility of tracing the source of the funds through fingerprints that might have remained on the bundled packaging has disappeared. It also found that lax discipline, such as poor management of seized items and serious reporting delays by prosecutors, has caused public distrust in prosecutorial work. The special counsel said it will notify the relevant misconduct as grounds for disciplinary action against those involved.
The special counsel also said it confirmed the need to improve the overall system for handling seized items. It said prosecutors should issue written, clear instructions on whether and to what extent the "original state" must be preserved before accepting seized items, and that when handling special seized items such as bundled banknotes, the prosecutor's office and the seizure officer must be clearly obligated to conduct joint comparison and verification. It said revising the rules on handling seized items at the prosecution is necessary for this.
It added that it found the procedure for handling seized items is often left to junior investigators and that management and supervision are lax, saying there is a need to establish a practical management system by assigning the work to a senior investigator with investigative experience or mandating approval by a Head of Team or Director. It also said closed-circuit (CC)TV should be installed to allow verification of the entire process of handling seized items, and that the video retention period should be extended beyond the current 30 days.
Because the special counsel could not decide whether to indict in this case, it said it will refer the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. Ahn said, "After verifying and investigating everything, we determined there are no grounds for charges," but added, "The agency receiving the case by referral will make the final decision on whether to indict."