'5 Billion Won Severance Pay' Gwak Sang-do's Son Investigated by Prosecutors as Suspect

Gwak Sang-do's son, who received a severance pay of 5 billion KRW from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, which is under suspicion of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, is coming out after completing an investigation at the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency on the afternoon of the 8th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The prosecution investigating the Daejang-dong development lobbying and preferential treatment allegations questioned Assemblyman Gwak Sang-do's son, Byeong-chae, as a suspect.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team summoned Mr. Gwak on the afternoon of the 21st and questioned him until evening. The prosecution received the case from the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency on the 19th.

The prosecution focused on questioning Mr. Gwak about the circumstances under which he received 5 billion won from Hwacheon Daeyu as severance pay and consolation money.

Since Assemblyman Gwak served as the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and later as a member of the National Assembly's Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the prosecution believes he likely assisted the project in some way.

During the prosecution's questioning, Mr. Gwak reportedly stated that "my father was unaware of the severance pay, and although the amount seems large to the general public, it was compensation for work-related injuries sustained while working at the company, which added to the consolation money."

It is also reported that Mr. Gwak submitted medical records to the prosecution that day to prove his health issues.

Mr. Gwak reportedly testified that he deducted 500 million won, which was borrowed as a jeonse deposit from the company, from his severance pay and received it, and that the remaining money is effectively still kept in the account.

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