An investigator on the special counsel team probing former first lady Kim Keon-hee had faced a criminal complaint over allegations that the investigator coerced testimony in a case linked to the death of a Yangpyeong County official. Police have now decided not to refer the investigator to prosecutors.
The Seoul Jongno Police Station cleared the investigator, identified only as A, on the 10th of this month and closed the case without referring it to prosecutors, according to police and other sources on the 16th. A had been booked on suspicion of abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.
Police questioned A as a suspect but found no evidence that the investigator forced a false statement or engaged in abusive conduct, sources said. A is a serving police officer who had been seconded to the Kim Keon-hee special counsel team at the time.
In October last year, a Yangpyeong County official identified as B, who had been under investigation by the special counsel, was found dead at home after being questioned by the team. B had been questioned as a suspect in connection with allegations of preferential treatment in the development of the Gongheung district in Yangpyeong.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea launched an investigation on its own authority into whether human rights were violated in the case, and then filed a criminal complaint against A on suspicion of abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. All other complaints filed against A were also closed without referral to prosecutors.
