Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Police had previously cleared themselves of wrongdoing in Choi Jong Hoon‘s police bribery case, because I guess the talk of him doing exactly that in the group chat and then having his drunk driving incident magically suppressed was coincidence or something.
Now they have said that police in the Burning Sun assault case have been cleared as well.
Regarding the suspicion of collusion between Burning Sun and the Yeoksam Patrol Division of the Seoul Gangnam Police Station, the police concluded that it did not occur. The police judged that there is no evidence of collusion after analyzing 72 cell phones and 18 shared cell phones of 71 police officers of Yeoksam Patrol Division including the four who were present on site for the incident, the call histories of 706 Burning Sun staff members, and the bank account records of 36 major staff members and police officers.
On the suspicions of the Yeoksam Patrol Division police officers assaulting Kim Sang Kyo, the police commented, “Based on video analysis and lie detector tests of the four police officers in question, they will not be booked as it is difficult to confirm the charges of assault, so the internal investigation will come to a close.” However, the police did confirm that there were problems in the procedure of arresting Kim Sang Kyo including the Miranda warning being notified after his arrest, and there were improper actions taken while transporting him. The police officers involved will be reported to the Office of Inspection & Public Complaints.
It’s one of those things that’s possible, but it’s fishy given everything else that has gone on, especially since the video that was made public from inside the station sure makes it look like there was at least excessive force being used against the assault victim even if one assumes he was acting up.
Speaking of the person who kicked this entire scandal off, the Burning Sun assault victim, he had three charges against him forwarded by police to prosecutors.
Kim Sang Kyo previously said in January that he was helping a woman who was being sexually harassed when he got attacked by security guards at the club, but he was arrested as the assailant and was further assaulted by the police at the police station. At the time, a source from the club stated that Kim Sang Kyo was charged for sexual harassment, while the police stated that he was arrested for interference with business. The police has decided to forward Kim Sang Kyo to the prosecution with the recommendation for indictment on charges of assault, interference with business, and the violation on the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes. Based on their investigations of Kim Sang Kyo’s behavior patterns at the time, victim testimonies, and analysis of CCTV footage, the police will forward Kim Sang Kyo to the prosecution for sexual harassment of three women with the recommendation of indictment and for one woman with the recommendation of non-indictment.
For what it’s worth, it could absolutely be possible that the Burning Sun assault victim was also sexually harassing women in a club, I’ve always said that. However, all three women who made the accusations against him are heavily connected to the club itself and the man who started the physical confrontation was confirmed to be the nephew of Choi Soon Sil, so it’s more than a bit odd that this seems to be a priority for authorities.
Meanwhile, two Burning Sun club employees will also be recommended to be charged.
The club’s sales director Jang and security guard manager Jang will be forwarded to the prosecution with recommendation of indictment on charges of violating the Punishment of Violences, etc. Act for the joint assault of Kim Sang Kyo. Choi, the individual who first got in a fight with Kim Sang Kyo, will also be forward to the prosecution with recommendation of indictment on the charge of assault.
Well … yeah. I mean they released an apology for it and everything, so I don’t think authorities had much of a choice here.
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In further police corruption news, there’s the case of the senior superintendent officer mentioned in the molka group chats, and he will be forwarded to prosecution by police along with two senior inspectors for abuse of power and violation of policy.
On May 15, a source from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency revealed that the police will forward Senior Superintendent Yoon to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment for abusing his power to obstruct another from exercising one’s right. More specifically, Senior Superintendent Yoon is charged on suspicions of having revealed confidential police information to Yoo In Suk regarding the club Monkey Museum, which was established in 2016 by Seungri and Yoo In Suk, after receiving a tip about criminal activity of the club. The police will also forward Senior Inspector “A” of the Gangnam Police Station’s Financial Crime Team as an accomplice for relaying confidential information to Senior Superintendent Yoon, as well as Senior Inspector “B,” the head officer in charge of the case at the time, for violating the confidentiality agreement as a police officer by revealing official information. However, the police revealed that it is difficult to recognize a reason for charging Senior Superintendent Yoon of violating the Enforcement Decree of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
In order to be charged with the violation of the act, one has to accept bribes over 1 million won (approximately $839) each instance or 3 million won (approximately $2,518) a year. As a result, the police will forward Senior Superintendent Yoon to the prosecution with a recommendation for non-indictment regarding suspicions of receiving bribes. However, in accordance to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the police decided that Senior Superintendent Yoon should still pay a fine. Therefore, the police will alert the Inspection Department to determine the proper disciplinary action for Senior Superintendent Yoon within the force. The police will conclude the investigation on his alleged acceptance of bribes for the time being, but they will reinvestigate if further evidence is revealed in the future.
Basically what they did technically stopped short of a bribe, but that’s essentially what went down, so he’s gonna get slapped on the wrist.
Again, they really didn’t have a choice with this one either considering everybody involved admitted to it at some point.
