POLICE TO START QUESTIONING LH SUSPECTS

[Anchor Lead]

Police investigating the Korea Land and Housing Corporation employees’ land purchase scandal may start questioning suspects as early as today. While the lawmakers from both sides have decided to implement a special prosecution system to look into the LH scandal, the police argued that they are better equipped to handle the matter than a special prosecution team.

[Pkg]

A joint team of government investigators has conducted three rounds of search and seizure on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation headquarters and other relevant offices. The investigation team carried out digital forensics on the seized materials and LH employees’ mobile phones and decided to start questioning the suspects as early as today. A high-ranking official of the joint investigation team said that given the current pace, summoning of the suspects could start today at the earliest or next Monday. This official stressed that the
questioning may be delayed depending on the suspects' or their attorney’s schedule, but the investigation will still proceed quickly. Currently looking into 37 allegations of land speculation, the investigators are also paying serious attention to some 50 leads out of the additional tips received through the hotline. They also said that they’re willing to probe allegations of 37 Farmland Act violations raised on March 17th by two NGOs: the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Minbyun, Lawyers for a Democratic Society. Meanwhile, police were reserved about the National Assembly’s decision to implement the special prosecution system to look into the LH scandal. They claimed that the police were better equipped to handle the investigation than special prosecutors.

[Soundbite] Nam Gu-jun(Chief, National Office of Investigation) : "The NOI is the country’s largest investigation body with more than 30,000 members nationwide. I believe the nationally organized NOI is a more effective and better-equipped investigator for a case like the LH scandal."

The NOI chief said, however, that he is not against implementing the special prosecution system and promised to cooperate in necessary areas once a special prosecution team is set up.