Police inspector who raised customs drug allegations seeks whistleblower protection

Police Inspector Baek Hae-ryong, who has raised allegations of customs officials' involvement in drug smuggling and of outside pressure to suppress the investigation, said Sunday he filed a whistleblower report with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and applied for protection.

Baek said through social media that he submitted the application to the commission on June 12. Under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Reporters, anyone wishing to file a whistleblower report may do so with the commission, investigative agencies such as police and prosecutors, administrative and supervisory bodies, corporate representatives, lawmakers or public organizations, and may receive protection as a result.

Baek served as head of the criminal investigation division at Seoul's Yeongdeungpo Police Station in 2023. He said he discovered evidence during a methamphetamine smuggling investigation suggesting that customs officials had assisted in drug trafficking, but that the presidential office and investigative agencies had applied outside pressure to block further inquiry.

President Lee Jae-myung ordered the establishment of a joint investigation team in June last year, leading to the formation of the Customs Drug Joint Investigation Team at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office. Baek joined the team in October last year at President Lee's direction but spent his three-month secondment in open conflict with the team's leadership.

Along with his whistleblower application, Baek submitted to the commission evidence and records he had secured during his time with the joint team. "I submitted more than 6,000 pages of investigative records to the commission as evidence," he said. "They are the traces of truth that our investigation team produced through blood and sweat under the most extreme isolation."

"During my secondment, I did not know who the other members were and was not allowed to attend investigation meetings," he said. "I was not given a single page of investigative materials handled by the joint team. Of the entire secondment period, the five members of our investigation team, including myself, were able to conduct a proper investigation for only 40 days."

Meanwhile, the joint investigation team concluded its probe in February, declaring the allegations "groundless" and deciding not to refer seven individuals for prosecution — among them former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon and former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, both of whom held office in 2023. The team also requested disciplinary action against Baek, alleging he had publicly disclosed investigative materials in violation of public relations rules and had taken documents without authorization when his secondment ended. Police recently launched an internal affairs investigation into Baek.