The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office has launched efforts to detain Ahn Boo-soo, former chairman of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association, and ex-executives of the Ssangbangwool Group. This move is part of the ongoing investigation into the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case and the related salmon and soju coercion allegations.
According to legal sources on December 6, the Human Rights Violation Task Force (TF) of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office confirmed that it had requested arrest warrants on the 5th for former Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman Bang Yong-cheol, former director Park (full name withheld), and Chairman Ahn. The charges include embezzlement and breach of trust.
Ssangbangwool stands accused of offering various perks to Ahn and his family in exchange for altering his testimony. Reports indicate that the company covered Ahn’s legal expenses and provided his children with residential officetels and preferential employment opportunities.
Ahn has been identified as a North Korean intermediary who facilitated connections between North Korea, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, and Ssangbangwool during Lee Jae Myung’s tenure as Gyeonggi governor. In February, he received an 18-month prison sentence for his role in transferring significant amounts of foreign currency to North Korea, in collusion with former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae.
Following his initial arrest in 2022, Ahn told prosecutors that the 8 million USD allegedly sent to North Korea by Ssangbangwool was intended for investments and stock manipulation. He later recanted, claiming the funds were meant to facilitate Lee’s visit to North Korea. This revised testimony proved crucial in securing a guilty verdict against former Gyeonggi Peace Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young.
The TF is currently probing allegations that the Suwon District Prosecutors’ investigation team brought salmon and soju into the interrogation room to influence the former vice governor’s testimony during the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case investigation. These claims came to light when the former vice governor revealed them in court last April. The Suwon District Prosecutors’ team has denied these allegations, insisting that the former vice governor’s statements are false, leading to a contentious dispute over the facts.
In September, the Ministry of Justice uncovered evidence suggesting that salmon and soju were indeed brought into the Suwon District Prosecutors’ interrogation room during the investigation. This discovery prompted an internal review. During this process, the TF identified potential criminal activity and escalated the inquiry to a formal investigation. As part of this probe, they conducted a search of the headquarters of Vivian, a Ssangbangwool subsidiary, last month.