[The Editors' Verdict]Hwacheon Daeyu: One Suspicion After Another

The words of Hwacheon Daeyu parties at the center of the Seongnam Daejang-dong suspicion, that is, if there is legally no problem, Hwacheon Daeyu must be a great company. During a time when the real estate market was not very good, people who had known each other in the legal community invested a small amount of money but took on a high-risk business. They easily raised hundreds of billions of won in operating expenses for this business. Among the employees were children of high-ranking acquaintances. I put a small amount of money from my own pocket (of course, they probably worked hard) and met the times well to earn hundreds of billions, even trillions of won. When an employee, the son of a member of the National Assembly who served for six years, suffered an industrial accident, they paid 5 billion won including severance pay, totaling 5 billion won per person in severance pay contracts. This is more than those in the financial sector with over 20 years of service, considered the pinnacle of voluntary retirement. The daughter of former special prosecutor Park Young-soo also earned several billion won by receiving an apartment allocation.

However, the Hwacheon Daeyu blockbuster myth is difficult to agree with the statements that ‘there is no legal problem,’ ‘they were lucky,’ or the mission-like phrase ‘they gained the world with the help of heaven,’ considering the various suspicions and circumstances that have been revealed so far and continue to emerge one after another every day. Above all, those who created and enjoyed the blockbuster myth were thoroughly formed as a ‘their own league’ or ‘inner circle.’ In a high-risk real estate business where the risks were unknown, influential figures whose names alone are well known, such as former Supreme Court justices and former special prosecutors, worked as advisors in a place unfamiliar and strange even to the mission. It is said that there were about 30 of them. Some of their children also worked at the company.

Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, said, "They are older brothers I liked and people who give me a lot of mental and psychological advice." Hundreds of thousands to millions of won in advisory fees were paid monthly for mental and psychological advice. Legal professionals still hold important positions in our society because their expertise, fairness, and integrity are recognized and expected. The higher the position, such as Supreme Court justices or special prosecutors, the greater the expectations. Because the expectations are high, the disappointment can only be greater, and the suspicions grow. Given the nature of the matter and the circumstances, it is hard to take the ‘explanations’ at face value.

In the end, it is necessary to investigate according to the five Ws and one H who, when, where, why, what, and how Hwacheon Daeyu, Cheonhadongin shareholders 1 to 7, and related persons did what. As the internal investigation is about to end (in October), the police, belatedly speeding up, have unified the investigation under the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. The prosecution, with complaints and accusations piling up, has now finally deployed the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is digging into the ‘accusation inducement suspicion’ reportedly involving former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

Kyung-ho Lee, Head of Social Affairs Division

Considering the timing of the presidential election and the impact of the issue, as well as the know-how of the investigation, all focus will be on the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The ruling party hopes the prosecution’s blade will be sharp toward the opposition party, the opposition party toward the ruling party, and one camp toward the other. They expect investigations that leave their side alone but conduct thorough, sweeping, and dragnet-style investigations on the other side. Regarding the results, the country will again be divided into ‘distrust vs trust in the prosecution.’ The investigation into former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his family triggered a whirlwind of prosecution reform, even leading to the term ‘complete removal of prosecution’s investigative authority (Geomsu Wanbak).’ The prosecution changed from Yoon Seok-yeol’s to Kim Oh-soo’s. As Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye said, "It is appropriate for the prosecution to swiftly and impartially uncover the truth." If that happens, it will be an opportunity to show a prosecution that belongs to the people, not the regime.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.