On February 19, media outlets reported that Mr. A, who previously served as the head of the Gangnam Police Station’s criminal investigation division, resigned last month and was rehired at the same law firm that represented Park Na Rae earlier this month.
Park Na Rae has been investigated at the Gangnam Police Station after being accused of assault and violation of the Medical Act. The person responsible for receiving investigative reports has since moved to the law firm representing Park.
Regarding this, Mr.A stated, “I did not direct the specific investigation into her case while serving as head of the criminal division, and I was not involved in the case even after transferring to the law firm.”
A representative from the law firm added, “Nine days before Park Na Rae’s case was reported to the Gangnam Police Station, Mr. A had already been interviewed and hired.”
However, legal experts are raising concerns that “since he was the person in charge and was aware of the investigation details, there is a potential conflict of interest.”
Under the current Public Service Ethics Act, retired public officials are required to undergo prior employment screening when seeking employment with an organization closely related to the department in which they worked. However, public officials with a lawyer’s license who seek employment as lawyers may be exempt from this screening.
Meanwhile, Park Na Rae was originally scheduled to appear before the police on February 12. However, she requested a postponement, citing deteriorating health and other factors. In addition, Park’s former managers reportedly appeared for questioning at the Gangnam branch on February 12.
K-Netizens were appalled at the news and agreed laws should be changed.
- “Are they allowed to do this?”
- “Shouldn’t they stop them from doing this?”
- “So ridiculous…”
- “What is this? So unbelievable.”
- “Is this for real? They need to block this from happening.”
