Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min is set to be investigated by police in connection with allegations of preferential hiring for his daughter, Yoo Dam, as a professor in the Department of International Trade at the University of Incheon.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption and economic crimes unit said on the 3rd that it booked the former lawmaker without detention on suspicion of obstruction of business.
The former lawmaker is said to be suspected of interfering with the university's hiring process during Professor Yoo's appointment at the University of Incheon. Police are said to have detected the former lawmaker's alleged offense in the course of investigating the related allegations.
Police on this day summoned the former lawmaker as a suspect and are said to be questioning whether the allegations are admitted. A decision has not yet been made on whether to refer the case to prosecutors.
The investigation began with a complaint filed in Nov. last year. The complaint reportedly called for an investigation of 23 people, including University of Incheon President Lee In-jae, the academic affairs office's human resources team, hiring review committee members, and hiring records managers, on charges including violations of the Public Records Management Act and obstruction of business.
Police have continued the investigation for more than seven months and are understood to be investigating three additional people, including the former lawmaker, beyond the original respondents named in the complaint.
However, Professor Yoo, the person at the center of the preferential hiring allegations, has not been booked to date.
Professor Yoo passed the new full-time faculty recruitment for the second semester last year at the University of Incheon and was appointed as a professor in the Department of International Trade at the College of Global Economics and Politics. Allegations of preferential treatment in the appointment process were later raised during the National Assembly's audit of government affairs.