Prosecutors raided South Korea's financial watchdog Friday over alleged unfair recruitment of some graduate staff with ties to influential figures including politicians and bankers.
Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office searched the headquarters of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in Seoul's Yeouido district and seized documents, according to the prosecution.
They also visited the residences of three FSS officials, including current FSS senior deputy governor Seo Tae-jong, as part of the raid. The accused are facing possible charges of obstruction of business and abuse of power, it added.
Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)
The Board of Audit and Inspection has raised suspicions through its own probe that a top FSS executive gave a special favor to a job candidate at the request of a financial firm's chief between late 2015 and early 2016.
It accused the FSS official of exerting influence to increase the quota of available positions and of helping the applicant land a job.
Another former ranking FSS official has been sentenced to one year in prison for pulling strings for a former politician's son to be hired as a lawyer at the FSS.
Prosecutors suspect there may be other similar cases involving more former and sitting FSS officials. (Yonhap)
