After the Ministry of the Interior and Safety requested a police investigation in connection with the Korea Freedom Federation's (HanJachong) project to develop and operate the Liberty Center site, HanJachong said it "expects that the improper pressure and abuse of authority by some officials at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will be fully exposed."
HanJachong said in a statement on the 19th that it "welcomes the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS)'s request for an investigation," and stated accordingly. HanJachong said, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) did not even notify us of the results of the special inspection, yet it distributed a press release using the provocative term 'request for investigation,'" and argued, "It is nothing more than a malicious attempt to tarnish the federation."
At the direction of Minister Yoon Ho-jung, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) conducted a special inspection of HanJachong from May 22 to on the 11th. The ministry announced the previous day that it found indications that around January 2026, a reevaluation of lower-ranked firms was conducted in a manner different from the evaluation criteria and procedures in the call-for-bids guidelines announced on Aug. 30, 2024, leading to the selection of a specific company as the preferred negotiation partner and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with that company.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) asked investigators to determine whether preferential treatment was given to a specific company and whether the elements of breach of trust in the course of duty are met, targeting former and current members of the task force (TF) that led the selection of the project operator.
HanJachong's position is that it was a lawful reevaluation that corrected the initial screening, which had many problems. HanJachong said, "From the outset, there was a fatal defect in the initial screening results in which a specific company, Company A, was selected as the preferred negotiation partner," and said, "That company received an unreasonable benefit of being ranked first despite having the lowest revenue terms."
It continued, "Why is the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) not requesting an investigation into the previous leadership that forcibly pushed to sign a contract with Company A?" and said, "Before the project even got fully underway, the previous leadership took out a massive loan of more than 20 billion won under the pretext of land acquisition, and as a result is bearing more than 600 million won in annual interest in full."
HanJachong also argued, "Due to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS)'s improper personnel interference and pressure to resign, the selection of a successor president has been seriously delayed," and said, "The responsibility for infringing on the autonomy of a private incorporated association and paralyzing the organization is by no means light."
HanJachong said it will file criminal complaints against all Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) affiliates who have credit entry for a specific company. It added, "Through the fair and impartial investigation by investigative authorities, the federation's innocence will be proven, and at the same time, the truth about the illegal acts committed by some officials at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will be revealed."