The police announced on the 9th that they caught a total of 2,617 individuals during a special crackdown on illegal rebates and corruption among public officials over a period of seven months, with 42 of them arrested.
The Korean National Police Agency conducted a special crackdown from Sept. 2 of last year to Mar. 31 of this year. The crackdown targeted illegal rebates and bribery within the medical, construction, and economic finance sectors, as well as corruption among public officials involving abuse of power, information leaks, and illicit solicitation.
The police forwarded 1,394 of the 2,617 individuals caught to the prosecution. Regarding illegal rebates, 1,050 individuals were caught, 682 were forwarded, and 16 were arrested. There were 1,567 public official corruption offenders, of which 712 were passed on to the prosecution and 26 were arrested.
Illegal rebates were caught by sector as follows: ▲ medical and pharmaceutical sector 597 individuals (5 arrested) ▲ construction industry 292 individuals (4 arrested) ▲ public sector, including government procurement 83 individuals ▲ economic finance 78 individuals (7 arrested). Public official corruption cases included ▲ bribery 526 individuals (15 arrested) ▲ financial corruption 445 individuals (2 arrested) ▲ abuse of power 401 individuals (1 arrested) ▲ illegal solicitation 120 individuals (8 arrested) ▲ information leaks 75 individuals.
The police cited the case of Korean Drug as a representative example of illegal rebates caught in the crackdown.
Korean Drug is suspected of providing illegal rebates amounting to 4.2 billion won to 334 medical professionals working at around 190 medical institutions from 2020 to 2023. As a result, 340 individuals, including 319 doctors who accepted illegal rebates for prescribing Korean Drug products and 21 employees of the pharmaceutical company, were apprehended. Two individuals, including a doctor and a hospital official, were arrested.
In the field of public official corruption, the case involving Kim Jin-ha, the mayor of Yangyang, for receiving gifts and bribes, was selected as a notable example. Mayor Kim is under arrest and facing trial for allegedly receiving 20 million won in cash, a high-end massage chair, and sexual favors from a female complainant.