Police have launched a forced investigation into related institutions regarding allegations of favoritism in the process of changing the route of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway.
The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency said on the morning of the 16th that they are conducting searches of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Yangpyeong County Office in Gyeonggi Province, and the service provider Kyungdong Engineering as part of the investigation.
Police are sending investigators to these institutions and companies to secure necessary materials for the investigation related to the construction of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway and the route change.
Previously, the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Provincial Committee and the civic group Judicial Justice Restoration Citizen Action reported former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong for abuse of authority in connection with favoritism in the route change of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway in July 2023. There are a total of five reported cases.
This case was filed with the CIO but was assigned to the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency last July after going through the prosecution. The police subsequently conducted investigations of the complainants and witnesses and analyzed materials related to the overall construction of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway. The search warrant was issued by the court on the 15th.
Complainants claim that former Minister Won abused his authority to change the route of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway, which had been maintained since the announcement of the preliminary feasibility study target project in 2019, from the endpoint in Aseo-myeon to a route that benefits the family of Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The favoritism allegations regarding the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway were raised in 2023. In light of the controversy, former Minister Won said in July of that year, "We cannot waste national power while the Democratic Party's incitement frame is in operation, so we will nullify all matters," and he suspended the expressway project itself.