The Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday searched the headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) for evidence in an embezzlement scandal that has ensnared a senior official of the group.
The action followed Wednesday's arrest of Kang Young Kwan, 66, a Chongryun executive, on suspicion he instructed top officials of the failed Chogin Tokyo credit union to embezzle 830 million yen of the union's funds.
About 20 pro-Pyongyang Korean residents of Japan milled in front of the Chongryun headquarters just after dawn. The number swelled to about 400 by the time 40 investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department arrived shortly after 9 a.m.