Case involving Han Dong-hoon's daughter resurfaces as police reopen probe four years on

Police have reopened an investigation into allegations that the daughter of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon falsified her academic credentials — a case that was filed when Han was serving as justice minister in 2022 but was closed without a proper investigation, according to the complainants.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit on Tuesday summoned representatives of civic groups — including the Livelihood Economy Research Institute and a lawyers' association that monitors prosecutors — who had filed complaints against Han and the prosecutors involved in the original case. The complainants appeared as informants and were questioned on charges including abuse of authority and dereliction of duty.

Speaking outside the unit's offices Tuesday, the complainants said it must be determined "whether the investigation into Han Dong-hoon's family was halted due to a lack of evidence or because of political interference."

They said the 2022 handling of the case by police and prosecutors must be reexamined — specifically, the background to the allegations that Han's daughter fabricated volunteer activity records, and the circumstances under which a mutual legal assistance request sent by the police investigation team to prosecutors was rejected without being forwarded. They also said Han should personally explain the allegations.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received the complaint in May 2022, alleging that Han's daughter — while Han was justice minister — had fabricated her career history and falsely entered volunteer activity records. After more than a year of investigation, police closed the case in December of the following year, citing insufficient evidence.

During that process, police in November 2022 asked prosecutors to submit a mutual legal assistance request to overseas authorities to obtain necessary materials, but prosecutors rejected the request. The complainants suspect Han, a former prosecutor who went on to serve as justice minister, may have exerted influence over the investigation.

The allegations surrounding Han's daughter have also been filed with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, meaning police and the agency are expected to conduct parallel investigations into the same case for now.

While police have broad investigative authority, they are required to transfer a case to the agency if it falls within the agency's jurisdiction and the agency requests a handover — unless there is a legitimate reason not to. Police said they intend to conduct a thorough investigation until any such transfer takes place, regardless of whether the agency makes such a request.

National Investigation Headquarters Director Hong Seok-gi explained the transfer procedure at a regular press briefing Tuesday, saying, "Unless there is a legitimate reason, police will hand over a case to the serious crimes agency when a transfer is requested."

He added, "We were given the authority to see an investigation through from start to finish — doing it sloppily on the assumption it will be transferred would be an embarrassment. We have our pride as an investigative agency, and we will work diligently until a transfer request comes."

On the question of whether the original investigation was inadequate, however, Hong said the results of the current probe would need to be awaited before drawing any conclusions.

"Depending on the outcome of the serious crimes agency's investigation, it will become clear whether the earlier case was deliberately mishandled or whether it was simply concluded that way given the circumstances at the time," Hong said.

Earlier, acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol told pro-government lawmakers — who had raised concerns about a lenient investigation and called for a reinvestigation on Oct. 16 — that "I believe the investigation at the time was conducted in accordance with the law and principles, but I will not rule out the possibility of a reinvestigation if new facts come to light."