A former executive of the Busan Port Authority, who was under investigation for allegedly providing favors to private companies in connection with the North Port redevelopment project and receiving money after retirement, has been found dead.
According to the Busan Dongbu Police Station, the former executive, identified as A, was discovered deceased in an officetel in Dong-gu on the evening of the 13th. The police, responding to a report from A’s family who could not contact him, found him at the scene.
A was under investigation for allegedly providing preferential treatment to a private company in relation to the North Port redevelopment project. During his tenure at the Busan Port Authority in 2018, A was accused of receiving a request from a real estate development company to assist in securing a bid for the North Port commercial business district and providing them with bidding guidelines.
The prosecution suspected that A received 1.1 billion won from the real estate development company through a company he established after retiring from the Busan Port Authority in 2021, and in October of last year, applied for an arrest warrant on charges of post-retirement bribery.
However, A denied the charges, claiming he neither provided such conveniences nor accepted bribes. The Busan District Court dismissed the arrest warrant, citing that there was room for dispute over the charges since the money was received three years after retirement, and there was little concern about flight risk or evidence destruction.