"'Son's 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay' Gwak Sang-do Avoids Arrest... Court Says 'Need to Guarantee Right to Defense'"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Gwak Sang-do is leaving the courtroom after attending the detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 1st.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The arrest warrant for former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who became embroiled in controversy after his son received a large retirement payment from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), the developer of the Daejang-dong project, has been dismissed. With the prosecution failing to secure Kwak's custody, the momentum for investigations into lobbying suspicions involving political and legal circles has weakened.

At 11:18 p.m. on the 1st, Judge Seo Bomin, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution against former lawmaker Kwak. Judge Seo stated, "There is room for dispute regarding the establishment of the crime, and it appears necessary to guarantee the suspect's right to defense; however, the prosecution's explanation regarding the reasons, necessity, and appropriateness of detention is insufficient."

Kwak was the first to have an arrest warrant requested in connection with the so-called '50 Billion Club' allegations, which claim that he received or was promised money from Hwacheon Daeyu. After the detention hearing on the same day, he was waiting at Seoul Detention Center and was immediately released.

Former lawmaker Kwak maintains that he did not engage in any activities related to Hwacheon Daeyu and was not involved in the Daejang-dong development project. After the detention hearing, he told reporters, "I question whether the so-called '50 Billion Club' has any substance," adding that the prosecution has yet to present evidence to prove it.

Regarding criticism that his son, Byeong-chae, received an excessive retirement payment relative to his position, Kwak said, "(Hwacheon Daeyu) earned money beyond what others can imagine," and "I think that's why these strange things happened." He also claimed that among those mentioned as members of the '50 Billion Club,' only he is being targeted by the prosecution.

On the other hand, the prosecution believes that in 2015, during the early stages of the Daejang-dong development project, when the Hana Bank consortium involving Hwacheon Daeyu was on the verge of collapse, former lawmaker Kwak exerted influence on behalf of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, to Hana Financial Group. In return for this favor, Byeong-chae, who worked at Hwacheon Daeyu for about six years, received approximately 2.5 billion won as retirement pay. Although the originally paid retirement amount was reported to be 5 billion won, the arrest warrant's criminal facts indicate the net amount after tax deductions.

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