Two Head of Team-level customs officials accused of taking 30 million won in cash on the pretext of swapping seized high-end wine for fakes have been indicted and will stand trial in custody.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 1 (Director General Park Hyang-cheol) said on the 24th that it indicted in custody customs officials A, 49, and B, 52, on charges of taking cash on the pretext of switching seized high-end wine with dummy bottles (display-only fake bottles). The two are Head of Team-level special judicial police officers (special police).
According to prosecutors, on Aug. 22, 2023, the two approached C, a person working in the wine industry, saying, "If you sell wine seized as smuggled goods after swapping it for fakes, you can make a profit." They then demanded and took 30 million won as lobbying funds to be provided to a prosecutor and a customs warehouse manager. According to prosecutors, the wines they sought to swap included "Romanée-Saint-Vivant" and "Grands Échézeaux," among other ultra-high-end wines, with a combined market value estimated at about 500 million won.
But their plan unraveled as the statute of limitations expired for 363 of the 379 seized bottles. A prosecutor ordered the return of the seized wine whose statute of limitations had expired. They told C they would help secure a large informant reward for reporting smuggling or would swap the remaining 16 bottles, and demanded an additional 40 million won in cash. C reported this to police.
Police in charge of the case sought arrest warrants for A and B, and prosecutors requested supplementary investigation with a legal review so that the facts of receiving 30 million won could fall under a violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribe brokerage). Prosecutors then additionally requested supplementary investigation to clarify statements about collusion with B during the pre-warrant interview process, and on June 30 this year obtained arrest warrants from the court.
In particular, A is also accused of exploiting the "proxy report" system by creating a fake informant and embezzling smuggling report rewards totaling 75 million won. The proxy report system is a scheme in which, if an informant does not want to report under a real name and wants reward payment, a customs official prepares a smuggling report on the informant's behalf and the customs official receives the reward and delivers it to the informant. The Korea Customs Service abolished the proxy report system on Dec. 3 last year because of this case.
According to prosecutors, A and B, as special police investigating tariff offenders, are subject to prosecutorial direction and supervision under the current Prosecutors' Office Act. But under the Public Prosecution Office Act set to take effect on Oct. 2 this year, prosecutors will no longer be able to direct or supervise special police. Some pending amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act likewise designate judicial police officers, not prosecutors, as the authority to dispose of seized items, meaning prosecutors will no longer be able to dispose of seized items.
A prosecution official said, "If the authority to direct and supervise investigations of special police is removed going forward, there is a high risk that corruption crimes and the like will be concealed," and added, "Because seized items are not only subject to execution, such as confiscation, but also constitute evidence, prosecutors responsible for filing and maintaining indictments must be able to dispose of seized items."