By Kim Hyun-bin
Prosecutors searched the headquarters of Hyundai Motor, Thursday, over suspicion the carmaker illegally hired retired senior Fair Trade Commission (FTC) officials.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it dispatched investigators and seized relevant documents and computer hard drives from Hyundai's human resources department.
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, Hyundai Department Store and e-commerce company Coupang are among the firms suspected of unlawfully hiring the senior officials.
According to the Public Service Ethics Act, senior government officials are banned from assuming positions that have to do with their duties of the past five years for three years after their retirement.
As of late, prosecutors have been carrying out similar searches as part of an expanding investigation into illegitimate hiring of senior government officials.
On June 20, after receiving information about the hiring of senior FTC officials, prosecutors searched related government entities including the FTC, the Fair Competition Federation and the Korea Federation of SMEs.
At first, prosecutors suspected around five to six former FTC officials of having been involved in illicit employment related to their field of expertise, but investigators reportedly found more cases of illicit employment as they expanded their investigation.