Top immigration policymaker offers resignation following corruption scandal

By Park Si-soo

Korea's top immigration policymaker offered to step down Saturday after a controversy flared up over his recent sale of listed stocks through which he pocketed millions of dollars.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed Jin Kyung-joon, commissioner of the Korea Immigration Service, had offered his resignation.

The senior prosecutor-turned-immigration officer has come under suspicions of engaging in an inappropriate, if not illegal, business deal in the early 2000s that allowed him to purchase then-unlisted shares of a local online game developer.

Under a mandatory report, the 49-year-old said he sold all his 801,500 shares of the South Korea-based firm listed on the Japanese stock market for about 12.6 billion won ($10.94 million) in 2015, resulting in a 3.79 billion-won increase in his personal wealth from the previous year.

All ranking government officials and lawmakers are required to disclose changes in their personal wealth annually.

Suspicions arose quickly after it was reported Jin had worked at the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit of the Financial Services Commission, suggesting that the very chance to purchase such large quantities of unlisted shares may had been a favor from the company.

Jin has strongly rejected suspicions, claiming the investment opportunity had been initially offered to a friend of his, who then decided to share the opportunity with many of his own friends, including Jin.

"Jin has internally verified how he came to buy and sell those shares," the ministry official said. "But from what I understand, he decided to quit as he feels the ongoing controversy may undermine the reputation of the Justice Ministry and the prosecution."