Two Police Officers Arrested for Accepting Bribes in Daegu
In Daegu, two active police officers have been arrested and charged for allegedly accepting bribes totaling millions of won from illegal gambling and escort service operators in exchange for providing them with information about law enforcement activities. The Daegu District Prosecutor's Office announced on May 12, 2025, that Officer A (46) from a police station in Gyeongbuk and Officer B (45) from a Daegu police station have been indicted on charges of bribery.
According to the prosecution, Officer A received bribes of 63.86 million won from escort service operator C (50) and 100.96 million won from illegal gambling operator D (49) between 2019 and July 2022 in return for sharing information about police crackdowns. Officer B is accused of accepting 23.9 million won from C over a period of approximately seven months starting in September 2019.
Investigations revealed that the officers referred to the operators as 'hyungnim' (형님, a term of respect) and engaged in leisure activities together, including overseas trips, golfing, and water skiing. Additionally, Officer A allegedly encouraged C to file a false report claiming that D had bribed the police, suggesting that this could lead to D's arrest. During this process, A disclosed the names of two fellow officers to C and made false reports to a superior officer at the Daegu Police Agency regarding the bribery.
Officer B was also found to have submitted a letter to the court requesting leniency for D, who was charged with violating the Gaming Industry Promotion Act.
To conceal their activities, the arrested officers reportedly accepted bribes in cash or used proxy accounts to launder the money as investment returns. They also regularly deleted conversations from their KakaoTalk chat rooms and created new ones to avoid detection.
A spokesperson from the Daegu District Prosecutor's Office stated that they will thoroughly investigate any remaining allegations and ensure that there is no inappropriate collusion between law enforcement officers and the targets of their investigations.
Meanwhile, C, who provided the bribes, has been arrested and charged with bribery, while B has been indicted without detention on the same charges.
