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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Customs drug probe whistleblower Baek Hae-ryong seeks protection

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Superintendent Baek Hae-ryong, who investigated alleged cover-ups of drug smuggling investigations at customs, has filed a public interest whistleblower report with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
  • Baek submitted approximately 6,000 pages of investigative records, including 5,400 pages of evidence, to the commission and requested whistleblower protection.
  • He claims he was excluded from investigations and denied access to case files, while the prosecution's special investigation team previously concluded there was no evidence of external pressure.

Superintendent Baek Hae-ryong, who has raised allegations of external pressure in investigations into alleged drug smuggling by customs officials, has formally sought protection as a public interest whistleblower. Baek submitted approximately 6,000 pages of investigative records, including crucial documents and evidence, to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on February 12th.

I will no longer plead with state institutions to give me a chance to investigate. Soon, I will take out the disheartening record of truth, spanning over 5,400 pages, from the backrooms of power and reveal it all in the court of the people and history.

— Superintendent Baek Hae-ryongIn a Facebook post detailing his actions after submitting evidence to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

In a social media post, Baek stated he would no longer plead with state institutions for a chance to investigate. He vowed to reveal the "disheartening record of truth" contained within the 5,400 pages of evidence to the "court of the people and history," moving it from the "backrooms of power."

Baek was dispatched to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in October last year to investigate the alleged cover-up of drug smuggling. However, he reported facing difficulties in conducting a thorough investigation due to conflicts with the existing special investigation team and its leadership. The special investigation team had previously concluded in February that there was "no substance" to the allegations of external pressure.

I was never allowed to participate in a single investigative meeting, and not a single page of the investigative materials handled by the special investigation team was shared with me.

— Superintendent Baek Hae-ryongDescribing his alleged exclusion from the investigation process.

Baek claims he was never allowed to participate in a single investigative meeting and was not shared any case files. He also alleged that his access to the KICS (Korean Integrated Computerized Legal System) was blocked for the first month after his dispatch. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently investigating Baek for allegedly leaking investigative records to the media while on dispatch, an act they consider a breach of investigation secrecy.

For the first month after my dispatch, even the use of the Korean Integrated Computerized Legal System (KICS) was blocked.

— Superintendent Baek Hae-ryongDetailing the obstacles he faced during the investigation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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