Two senior prosecution and Justice Ministry officials offered to resign Thursday, one day after President Moon Jae-in ordered an inspection into allegations they inappropriately gave cash to lower-level officials including a team of prosecutors who probed former President Park Geun-hye and her aides.

On Wednesday, the president ordered the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to inspect Ahn Tae-geun, a deputy minister for criminal affairs, and Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who led the headquarters of special investigation into the corruption scandal. 


His order is seen as a possible trigger to reopen the investigation into Park's former aide Woo Byung-woo, and to carry out a drastic reform of the prosecution office. Lee's team is suspected of failing to get to the bottom of Woo's charges, resulting in a court's refusal to approve his arrest last month. Woo once served as a senior prosecutor.

During a dinner shortly after Lee's team closed the investigation late last month, they offered envelopes of cash to each other's underlings. Each of the envelopes contained between 700,000 won and 1 million won ($625-$893). Two justice ministry officials who received money from Lee returned it the very next day.

"I am sorry for causing concern to the public. I will resign from the post and sincerely go through the inspection," Lee said in a statement.

"I feel sorry about the latest incident. I would like to offer my resignation as it seems inappropriate to serve in the public office under the current circumstances," Ahn said in a separate statement.

Ahn has also been said to have held hundreds of telephone conversations with Woo while the latter was still working at the presidential office but was subject to investigation by an independent counsel.

Still, it is unlikely for their resignations to be accepted until the inspection is over.


Woo was questioned over a range of allegations, but the prosecution's two attempts to arrest him were dismissed by a court.

Woo currently faces a trial over allegations that include negligence of duty for failing to prevent Park's longtime friend Choi Soon-sil from interfering in government affairs and extorting tens of billions of won from local businesses.

He is one of very few suspects in the case to face trial without physical detention, while the former president herself remains in custody.

Cheong Wa Dae said the prosecution has also set up a 12-person team to investigate allegations surrounding one of its own, Lee said. (Yonhap)