His case has rocked the country for months, at a time when public grievances run deep over growing income inequality and the way justice is pursued here.

The prosecutor, Jin Kyung-joon, a vice ministerial-level official, is the most senior prosecutor ever arrested while in office in modern South Korean history.

SEOUL — A top South Korean prosecutor was arrested Sunday on charges of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the owner of Nexon, a leading online game maker, in a case that the country’s media have portrayed as the epitome of corruption among its elite.

Local media have reported it as the latest example of how some of the country’s business and government elites promote one another’s interests through collusive ties.


On Sunday, Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong, who is in charge of prosecutors, apologized to the people, saying he was “embarrassed and despaired” over Jin’s “corruption and crime.” Prosecutors say that Jin received about $370,000 from Kim Jung-ju, the founder of Nexon, in 2005, to buy unlisted Nexon Korea stock.

The next year, he sold the shares back to Nexon Korea for about $880,000. He then bought stock in Nexon Japan. He netted a fortune after Nexon Japan went public in 2011, selling the stock for $11 million last year.

Jin is also accused of having received a luxury sedan from Nexon.

Investigators said Sunday that they were also looking into an allegation that in return for hushing up a tax investigation against Korean Air, Jin had forced the airline to give a lucrative contract to a company run by his brother-in-law. Prosecutors have summoned Korean Air officials in the matter.

Jin first said in March that he had bought the original Nexon Korea shares with his own money. Then he said some of the money came from his mother-in-law. He later changed the story again, saying the money was borrowed from Kim Jung-ju and later repaid.


Last week, Jin apologized for lying but did not say whether the money he received from Kim Jung-ju was a bribe.

Kim Jung-ju is the largest shareholder of NXC, which controls both Nexon Korea and Nexon Japan.

Nexon markets online games popular in Asia and beyond, like “KartRider,” “MapleStory,” and “Dungeon Fighter.” He was once hailed as one of South Korea’s richest young tech entrepreneurs.

Now, lawmakers and newspaper editorials have accused Kim Jung-ju of using the same corrupt means the country’s traditional business tycoons and conglomerates, known as “chaebol,” are often accused of using to buy favors and protection. Last week, investigators raided his offices to collect evidence of crime. Kim Jung-ju said he was cooperating.

Jin was the second senior government official whose behavior brought about his downfall in recent days. Last week, a senior Education Ministry official was fired after telling reporters that 99 percent of South Koreans should be treated “like dogs and pigs.”