'The Whereabouts of 18 Billion Won...' Central Headquarters Raises Suspicion, "Did Choi Moon-soon Not Know About GJC's Criminal Charges?"

"Responsible for Embezzlement of Construction Costs as an Unfair Contract Party with Merlin"
"Gangwon Provincial Council Approved 205 Billion Won Budget Unaware of GJC's Prosecution by Prosecutors"

Members of the Civic Group Jungdobonbu opposed the approval of the 205 billion won budget for the guarantee debt related to GJC, which is under prosecution investigation for criminal charges, in front of the Gangwon Provincial Council on the 9th. [Jungdobonbu]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The civic group Jungdobonbu (Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Headquarters), which filed a complaint with the prosecution against former Gangwon Governor Choi Moon-soon and Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation (GJC) on charges of embezzlement of construction costs related to Legoland, has raised suspicions of concealment of criminal facts against former Governor Choi and GJC.

Jungdobonbu claimed on the 11th, stating, "The Gangwon Provincial Council finally approved the GJC guarantee debt budget of 205.1 billion won on the 9th."

The Provincial Council passed the budget bill, which was submitted after going through the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, at the 3rd plenary session of the 315th regular meeting on the 9th, with 41 votes in favor and 6 abstentions out of 47 members present.

Jungdobonbu criticized the council’s audit. The group pointed out, "Last month, the Gangwon Provincial Council’s Economic and Industrial Committee audited GJC without receiving a report on the criminal facts that had been forwarded with a prosecution opinion."

They added, "The Budget and Accounts Special Committee of the Provincial Council also approved the original budget of 205.1 billion won for the 'Obligatory Burden Fulfillment of the Hajungdo Tourist Site Development Project' included in the second supplementary budget without knowing the criminal facts of GJC."

Jungdobonbu judged that the budget approval was made without reporting important information related to the Legoland project, such as the unfair contract GJC, which was in charge of the Legoland infrastructure construction, signed with Merlin, the UK-based Legoland operator, to the 8th elected Gangwon provincial government and the Provincial Council.

The group had previously visited the office of Kwon Hyuk-ryeol, chairman of the Gangwon Provincial Council, on the 23rd of last month to deliver a document titled "Request for Audit of Chuncheon Legoland Project" to 49 council members.

In particular, they pointed to former Governor Choi Moon-soon as a factor preventing fact verification regarding the Legoland project and GJC-related issues.

The group claimed, "If former Governor Choi, as a party who made the unfair contract with Merlin, was informed about and aware of the infrastructure construction but ignored it, it is no different from embezzling 18 billion won of embankment costs including sand purchase out of the 47.5 billion won construction cost."

Earlier, in April 2020, Jungdobonbu filed a criminal complaint against GJC and other Legoland project operators for illegally dumping a large amount of construction waste such as discarded concrete at the Legoland infrastructure construction site, and the case was forwarded to the prosecution in December of the same year (Case No. 2021형제2971).

During this process, Jungdobonbu raised the issue, stating, "We repeatedly sent official documents such as content-certified letters to Gangwon Province and related officials regarding the criminal facts, but no action was taken against GJC."

Kim Jong-moon, head of Jungdobonbu, claimed in an interview with this paper, "We protested that the judgment on the information forwarded with a prosecution opinion against GJC is the role of the Provincial Council, but the province said GJC did not report the forwarded prosecution opinion."

On May 15, 2018, before signing the Legoland MDA, Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, presented a bouquet to John Jacobson, General Manager of Merlin's Legoland, during his visit to Gangwon Province. [Jungdo Headquarters].

Jung Kwang-yeol, Deputy Governor of Gangwon Province for Economic Affairs, also stated at a press conference last October, "Gangwon Province does not have management rights over GJC, yet must repay all debts, and it is unable to properly grasp GJC’s specific financial status or cash flow."

In fact, despite huge investments, Gangwon Province’s revenue structure is minimal, close to 'zero.' At the time of the first contract between the province and Merlin, the province was to receive 10% of profits if the theme park’s annual sales exceeded 80 billion won.

However, after a profit rate readjustment in 2018, the rate sharply dropped to 0.18% if sales exceeded 100 billion won. The Provincial Council tried to identify such issues by requesting data such as land sales from GJC for years, but GJC repeatedly refused to disclose it citing 'information protection obligations.'

The province, which has taken on a guarantee debt of 205 billion won, also cannot grasp GJC’s debt and management status. It is reported that Governor Kim Jin-tae, six months into his term, has yet to receive specific documents such as the Legoland comprehensive development agreement, debt status, or land sales from GJC.

This is due to the structure of GJC, which is not subject to provincial supervision. At present, unless Gangwon Province, GJC, and Merlin agree to disclose related information, confidential matters related to the Legoland contract can only be revealed through forced investigations by judicial authorities.

Ultimately, the province, unable to manage and supervise GJC, is looking into whether GJC sold land near Legoland at a low price or with preferential treatment through court judgment, and if so, has pulled out the corporate rehabilitation application card to prevent it.

In response, Song Sang-ik, president of GJC, said, "Land sales have been conducted according to legal standards and procedures, such as based on appraised values," and former Governor Choi also claimed, "It was announced for political purposes without accurately grasping the substantive truth."

Meanwhile, the prosecution is investigating allegations that former Governor Choi Moon-soon and GJC embezzled part of the construction costs during the Chuncheon Legoland infrastructure construction process.

Former Governor Choi is also under investigation after being forwarded to the prosecution on charges of obstructing bidding at Alpensia, and regarding the Legoland project, he has been reported to the Gangwon Police Agency by Gangwon Provincial Assembly member Park Ki-young on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, abuse of authority, and neglect of duty.

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