Ministry of the Interior and Safety: "Suspicious Circumstances of Breach of Duty at Korea Freedom Federation... Case Referred for Investigation"
Special Inspection Results Announced on June 18
Selection of Specific Company in Site Development Process
Closed-Door Negotiations Continued Despite Requests to Halt Project
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has identified suspicious circumstances suggesting breach of duty in the special inspection of the Korea Freedom Federation and has referred the case to law enforcement authorities for investigation.
On June 18, the Ministry announced that it had discovered indications of breach of duty during the promotion of the development and operation project for the Namsan Freedom Center site in Jung-gu, Seoul, which is run by the Korea Freedom Federation. The Ministry subsequently requested an investigation into related officials. The Korea Freedom Federation, a non-profit corporation under civil law, is subject to the Ministry's oversight and supervision.
Previously, the Ministry conducted a special inspection of the Korea Freedom Federation from May 22 to June 11. Through this inspection, the Ministry identified suspicious circumstances of breach of duty among those involved in the selection of the next-priority preferred negotiation partners and in the negotiation process for the development and operation project, which has been ongoing since December of last year.
The key parties involved in the project conducted a reevaluation of lower-ranked companies around January 2024, using a method different from the evaluation criteria and procedures outlined in the public notice guidelines announced by the Korea Freedom Federation on August 30, 2024. It was later discovered that a specific company was selected as the preferred negotiation partner, and a business agreement was signed with that company.
In particular, even though the Ministry of the Interior and Safety requested twice—on January 23 and April 3—that the project be halted due to concerns about the appropriateness of the follow-up procedures, the Federation continued to pursue closed-door negotiations with the selected company.
However, during the special inspection process, the Korea Freedom Federation failed to submit key documents, which limited the Ministry's ability to confirm the facts conclusively. As a result, the Ministry has requested an investigation into current and former officials, including those in the Federation's project operator selection task force, to determine whether special favors were provided to a specific company and whether breach of duty occurred.
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The Ministry stated, "We believe that law enforcement authorities need to objectively establish the facts regarding the circumstances identified in the special inspection," adding, "We will actively cooperate with the investigation and take necessary follow-up measures based on the results."
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