[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Police Leave Door Open to Full Reinvestigation of 'Allegations Involving Han Dong-hoon's Daughter'

"Reinvestigation Possible if New Facts Emerge"

The acting chief of the National Police Agency said he would leave open the possibility of a reinvestigation if new facts emerge regarding allegations including the ghostwriting of a thesis for the daughter of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. The remarks came after members of the ruling bloc criticized the investigation as inadequate because police questioned only the complainant before closing the case.

Acting Commissioner General Kim Jongcheol answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the National Police Agency held by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee at the agency's headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 12th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's parliamentary audit of the National Police Agency on October 12, Acting Commissioner General Kim Jongcheol responded to lawmaker Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who called for a full reinvestigation of the case: "I believe we followed the procedures in accordance with the law and principles, but I will not rule out the possibility of a full reinvestigation if new facts emerge." Asked whether police would be willing to launch a reinvestigation if the complainant filed another complaint, he said, "We will consider it."

Yoon took issue with the fact that police investigated the case for one year and eight months but questioned only the complainant, and did so six times. He argued that the investigation was inadequate because police questioned the person accused only once in writing and never applied for a search warrant, despite the social controversy over allegations of thesis ghostwriting and violations of the Copyright Act.

In particular, Woo Jong-soo, then head of the National Office of Investigation, said at a press briefing that "many witnesses were questioned." However, records obtained by Yoon from the National Police Agency showed no record of witness interviews at all.

Asked whether repeatedly questioning only the complainant was standard practice, Acting Commissioner General Kim said, "It is not routine." He added, "I say this cautiously, but I think more active investigative efforts may have been needed." He said he would check whether witness interviews had actually taken place and, if so, how many people had been questioned.

Lawmaker Jung Chun-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party also criticized the response to the case. She said that after a request for international criminal justice assistance to obtain materials in the United States was rejected in December 2022, no further request was made. "The investigation into the children of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk involved 90 search and seizure operations and questioning," Jung said. "If the prosecution returned the request saying the reasons were insufficient, the police should have supplemented it and submitted it again."

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received a complaint in May 2022 over allegations of a "fake résumé" involving the daughter of Han, who was then justice minister, and closed the case without referring it to prosecutors in December of the following year. Instead of conducting searches and seizures, police requested materials from overseas academic associations and other organizations, receiving and analyzing 11 items. The daughter was cleared of obstruction of business because the academic association to which her thesis was submitted had not reviewed it. As for the alleged Copyright Act violation involving the production and sale of an e-book based on plagiarized material, police ruled that there was "no right to prosecute" because the original author had not filed a complaint.

Acting Commissioner General Kim said of the investigative approach, "I do not think it is a standard method of investigation."

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