Police Tracing Sex Contacts of Late Actress Jang

Police raided the late actress Jang Ja-yeon's management agency office in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, Sunday and confiscated various documents and computer files. Curiously, the building has a bedroom and shower. / Korea Times Photo by Hong In-kee

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Police raided the office of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon's management agency in Seoul amid growing allegations that the office had been used for years as a room for secret entertaining and sexual intercourse between show business VIPs and its actresses.

The Bundang Police Station said investigators arrived at the office in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, at 1 a.m. They confiscated more than 200 documents, surveillance camera records and computer files in a three-hour search of the building. They confirmed the veiled three-story building had a bedroom and shower on the third floor and the first floor was remodeled like an upscale bar.

The raid was aimed at securing evidence backing the late actress's claims in a suicide note that she was pressured to entertain and have sex with media and corporate executives in exchange for raising her media exposure through their influence, police said.

The investigation was initiated based on her note, but has failed to make substantial progress due to lack of evidence.

``We found a secret room on the third floor, which has a shower and a bed,'' chief investigator Oh Ji-yong said. ``But how the room was used is yet to be verified.''

Investigators said a bar on the first floor was decorated with brown luxurious European-style furniture with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Police confirmed the agency's head Kim, now hiding in Japan, hosted fashion shows there. The second floor is the agency's administrative office, they said. The 70-square-meter third floor was built in October 2007.

Nearby residents said parking lots in front of the building were packed with luxury sedans almost every night and most lights in and outside the building remained turned on almost every night for a party.

Police will analyze the documents, computer files and CCTV records to confirm the list of visitors. They are also meeting nearby residents for clues to their identities.

Police have yet to summon her former manager Yoo Jang-ho for questioning as his attorney asked for a delay, citing health reasons.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr