South Korean police said Tuesday they are considering refiling an arrest warrant for HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk after prosecutors rejected two previous requests, while saying they would respect the prosecution's position.
"We may have different views from the prosecution, but the police did our best," Park Jung-bo, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing held at the agency's headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 18th.
"We plan to analyze the reasons for the non-request and decide on the future direction of the investigation," Park said. "We will review whether there is anything to supplement in the records, respecting the prosecution's opinion, before making a decision."
Police also plan to first close some of the charges for which the investigation has been completed, among the 13 allegations surrounding independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee. "It would be better to wrap up the investigation all at once, but there are so many issues that we plan to organize the completed ones first," Park said. "Most have been wrapped up, but issues to investigate emerge during the legal review process, so we can only consider the next step after the legal review is complete."
The investigation into Rep. Kim, which began in September last year, has continued for nearly 10 months. Park had announced on the 20th of last month that the case would be separately referred to the prosecution.
Meanwhile, Park said that personnel reform has been completed at Gangnam Police Station, which faces allegations that its officers covered up investigations and visited room salons.
Regarding a unit at Gangnam Police Station that surveyed all its staff on whether they had visited entertainment establishments, Park drew a line, saying, "We checked (the related allegations), but there was no substance to them. We are looking into all the cases handled by that unit, and there are no problems yet."
Regarding the recent large-scale overhaul of investigative personnel at Gangnam Police Station, he said, "Since we have carefully selected and assigned (the investigative personnel), the unit will be revitalized."
Gangnam Police Station recently replaced its entire investigation and criminal lines amid allegations that officers had received money to cover up a fraud case involving broadcaster Yang Jung-won, a former Pilates instructor.
"As part of efforts to refresh the atmosphere, we have completely replaced investigation division chiefs who have served more than one year in Gangnam-area police stations, including Gangnam, Seocho, Bangbae, Songpa, and Suseo," Park said. "Most criminal division chiefs who have served more than two years have also been replaced. This is a strong personnel reform targeting division-level managers."
In addition, Gangnam Police Station has decided to transfer all officers at the rank of senior inspector or above who have served for more than three years to non-Gangnam areas.
"Officers do not prefer the Gangnam area. We extended the position announcement twice to recruit transferees," Park said, adding that four of the eight transferees hold attorney licenses.
