Officer detained for allegedly burying probe into influencer Yang Jeong-won's case

A police officer suspected of accepting bribes to suppress an investigation involving influencer Yang Jeong-won has been detained.

Seoul Southern District Court Judge Kim Ji-hyun, who oversees warrant reviews, issued an arrest warrant Wednesday afternoon for Senior Inspector Song, who faces charges of leaking official secrets. The judge cited concerns about flight risk and destruction of evidence, following a pre-arrest hearing.

Song led a team in the investigations unit at Gangnam Police Station. He is accused of accepting bribes from a wealthy businessman surnamed Lee — himself under investigation for alleged share price manipulation — and using the money to quash a fraud investigation into Lee's wife, Yang.

Yang had worked as a model for a Pilates hagwon franchise before franchise owners filed fraud and other charges against her around July 2024. Police closed the case without referral to prosecutors in December that year, ruling there were insufficient grounds for charges.

Prosecutors had sought an arrest warrant for Song in April, but the court rejected it, saying "there is a dispute over whether the entertainment or money constitutes a bribe, and the right to mount a defense must be guaranteed."

After gathering additional evidence pointing to Song's role in suppressing the investigation, prosecutors reapplied for the warrant on Friday, July 31.