The permanent special counsel team, headed by Ahn Kwon-seop, which is looking into allegations of discarding wrappers from sealed bundles of new banknotes and claims of external influence in the non-prosecution of Coupang’s severance pay case, plans to call Moon Ji-seok, a senior prosecutor from the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, as a reference witness on the 11th. Prosecutor Moon had previously raised concerns about external pressure during a parliamentary audit in October, alleging that then-chief prosecutor Um Hee-jun and deputy prosecutor Kim Dong-hee pressured him to dismiss the charges.
The special counsel, initiated on the 6th, is reportedly examining documents concerning the inspection of sealed banknote wrappers and other materials provided by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. The group intends to systematically look into those suspected, beginning with Prosecutor Moon.
The idea of discarding the wrappers came about after an event in December last year, when the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office confiscated a sum of money, including 50 million Korean won in newly issued Bank of Korea banknotes that were still sealed, during a search of the residence of Jeon Seong-bae, a well-known shaman called Geonjin. However, during the investigation, the wrappers and labels—which contained information like the date of the cash inspection—were lost. Once it was discovered that the assigned investigator had mistakenly thrown them away, there was a debate about the possible destruction of evidence.
The concern about external influence in the decision not to prosecute Coupang emerged when the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office chose not to proceed with the case related to Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS), a logistics company under Coupang. This case had been referred by the Bucheon Branch of the Central Regional Employment Labor Office in April of last year, which recommended that charges be brought due to unpaid severance pay. Prosecutor Moon, who was handling the case, stated during an October parliamentary audit that then-prosecutor Um and deputy prosecutor Kim Dong-hee pressured him to drop the charges. Following this, the Ministry of Justice set up a permanent special counsel to investigate these allegations at the same time.
At the same time, Prosecutor Um submitted a request to the special counsel on the 6th, asking them to look into Prosecutor Moon for the offense of making false accusations. In a statement, Prosecutor Um rejected Moon’s allegations, saying, “Prosecutor Moon’s claim that I forced him to drop the charges or ignored him is untrue.” He further stated, “I ask the permanent special counsel to carefully examine the facts and impose strict penalties on Prosecutor Moon for false accusation.”
