Relaunch of Rhyzen Allegations Involving Rhyu Si-min… Will the Investigation Heat Up at the Central Investigation Agency?

Lee: "Investigate without favoritism"... Some pro-Lee Jae-myung figures announce upcoming complaints
Cho Kuk: "Repeating allegations targeting Moon"... Dispute over the scope of past investigations
Former President Moon Jae-in and author Rhyu Si-min greet citizens before a book talk at the Dolbegae X Pyeongsanchakbang booth during the 2026 Seoul International Book Fair held at COEX, Seoul, on the 25th. 2026.06.25.ⓒNewsis [Dailyian = Reporter Eo Yun-su] Controversy has resurfaced as some figures aligned with Lee Jae-myung are demanding a reinvestigation into the allegations involving author Rhyu Si-min and Rhyzen. As President Lee Jae-myung has ordered the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) to conduct a strict investigation "without picking sides," attention is focused on whether allegations that were not substantiated in past prosecution investigations will once again become subjects of investigation.
According to political circles on the 21st, some pro-Lee Jae-myung YouTubers and commentators are arguing that Rhyu's Rhyzen-related allegations must be reinvestigated. Kim Yong-min, chairman of the Peace Tree, announced on his YouTube broadcast on the 8th that he would file a complaint regarding the Rhyzen case with the CIA. Oh Chang-ik, secretary general of the Human Rights Solidarity, emphasized during the broadcast that "the police or the CIA must investigate," adding that "past investigations were not conducted properly."
Cho Kuk, director of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Rebuilding Korea Party, reacted against the calls for reinvestigation. Through his Facebook on the 18th, Cho argued that the 2020 prosecution investigation failed to reveal any connection between Rhyu and the Rhyzen case, claiming that allegations previously targeting former President Moon Jae-in are being repeated against Rhyu.
The allegations of political and governmental lobbying regarding Rhyzen center on the claim that the company received political assistance during its growth and listing process. Allegations of involvement were raised when it was revealed that Lee Chul, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK)—which was formerly the largest shareholder of Rhyzen—served as a regional chairperson for the People's Participation Party, a party led by Rhyu, and that Rhyu also delivered congratulatory remarks at a Rhyzen technical briefing in 2015.
Rhyu denied the allegations, stating that he merely attended the event at the request of an individual who served as a regional chairperson for the People's Participation Party at the time. He also countered by suggesting that if there had been an issue, the prosecution under the Park Geun-hye administration or the Yoon Suk-yeol investigation team would not have left him alone.
On June 8, 2020, during the tenure of Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol, the Financial Investigation Division 1 (then headed by Director Seo Jeong-sik) of the former Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (now Seoul Southern Public Prosecution Office) announced the "results of the interim investigation into corruption involving Rhyzen management, etc.," stating that the substance of the political and governmental lobbying allegations could not be confirmed. The explanation was that while Rhyzen-related accounts were analyzed, no fund flows leading to Rhyu or the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation were discovered. However, they noted that they did not directly examine the accounts of Rhyu or the foundation.
The investigation team at the time explained that they did not investigate Rhyu. During the briefing on the investigation results, Director Seo stated that since no specific clues or circumstances were found, they did not feel the need for an investigation, saying, "We did not actually conduct an investigation." The investigation results at the time concluded that although they did not directly investigate Rhyu, they could not find clues to support the relevant charges after reviewing Rhyzen's accounts and search and seizure materials.
Other allegations raised against officials of the Moon Jae-in administration have also repeatedly ended in non-indictments. The Public Investigation Division 1 (Director Yoon Su-jeong) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (now Seoul Central Public Prosecution Office) dismissed charges against former President Moon for allegedly giving final approval to cover up or downplay the West Sea official shooting incident due to insufficient evidence. Former Chief of Staff Roh Young-min and former Unification Minister Lee In-young, who were accused of damaging public electronic records, were also not indicted due to insufficient evidence in the same month.
The complaint against former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee for charges including invalidation of public documents and abuse of authority was also dismissed. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won and former National Security Director Seo Hoon, who were sued for violating the Board of Audit and Inspection Act for failing to comply with audit requests, also received non-indictment decisions from the prosecution on the 28th of last month.
During a cabinet meeting on the 6th, President Lee ordered the CIA to "investigate the criminal acts of the so-called powerful social leadership, those who are highly educated and possess much, strictly and thoroughly without a moment's hesitation." At a cabinet meeting on the 20th, with CIA Director Kim Ji-yong in attendance, he emphasized, "Regarding major crimes such as power-based corruption, please mobilize all investigative powers to crack down strictly without picking sides or respecting any sanctuaries, thereby proving the significance and necessity of the CIA to the people."
The fact that charges were not confirmed in past investigations does not mean the possibility of a reinvestigation disappears. According to Supreme Court precedents, a non-indictment decision does not have the same conclusive effect as a final court judgment, so if the statute of limitations remains, a case can be reinvestigated and prosecuted.
Some in the legal community analyze that depending on the materials presented during the complaint process, there is a possibility that the CIA could reinvestigate allegations whose substance was not confirmed in past investigations. A lawyer in Seocho-dong, Seoul, said, "If specific data or statements are presented during the complaint process, there is room for the CIA to review existing records and launch an investigation," adding, "The subject and scope of the investigation could change depending on new clues."