Police Search County Chief's Office... Yeonggwang County Denies Bribery Allegations Involving Chief's Child

Booked for Abuse of Authority... Investigating Improper Involvement in Contracts
Yeonggwang County: "No Intervention" - Actively Cooperating with the Investigation

The police investigating allegations of bribery involving the child of Jang Seil, the head of Yeonggwang County, have conducted a search and seizure of the county chief's office. Authorities are looking into whether Jang unjustly intervened in the process of a private company securing Yeonggwang County's projects.

On the morning of September 9, the Provincial Special Crime Investigation Unit of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency sent investigators to the Yeonggwang County Office, including the office of the county chief, and secured related materials. Police recently booked Jang on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, but did not disclose specific details of the investigation.

Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency building.

This investigation began after suspicions surfaced that Jang's daughter, identified as A, age 31, received a check worth approximately 30 million won from a private businessperson via an intermediary ahead of the Yeonggwang County by-election scheduled for September 2024.

Just before the June 3 local elections, a local media outlet reported these suspicions, which then expanded to allegations that the private company in question won a 350 million won discretionary contract with Yeonggwang County in exchange for providing valuables.

The police are currently verifying whether Jang was unjustly involved in this process or exerted improper influence.

Jang and his daughter have strongly denied the allegations, claiming they are malicious and false, and have launched legal action. Jang's side has filed defamation complaints against those involved and is proceeding with criminal complaints against certain media outlets. It has also been reported that provisional injunctions to ban video postings and lawsuits seeking damages have been filed with the court.

On the afternoon of September 9, the Yeonggwang County Office released an official statement, saying, "The allegation of bribery involving the county chief's child is not true, and there has also been no improper intervention or exertion of influence in the process of contracts or projects with specific companies." The statement added that Jang would fully and actively cooperate with the investigation authorities to clarify the facts regarding the allegations.

Furthermore, "From the time the suspicions were first raised, we have actively cooperated in uncovering the truth by immediately requesting the investigating agency to check the check numbers and by submitting related documents for objective fact-finding," the county explained. "At the time of the initial search and seizure related to the child, we also requested a prompt clarification of the facts from the investigative authorities," they added.

Yeonggwang County stated, "As the investigation is ongoing, we will faithfully submit all required documents and actively clarify the facts. We hope that, through this investigation, the veracity of the allegations raised so far will be clearly established based on objective evidence and facts." The office also added, "County Chief Jang Seil will ensure that the administration of the county will not be disrupted in any way."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.