Prosecutors Indict Multiple Persons Related to 'Gapyeong's Largest Water Leisure Facility Corruption'

Prosecutors [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution has indicted 14 individuals, including the chairman and CEO of a company, former and current public officials, a local newspaper reporter, and brokers, as well as two corporations, in connection with allegations of corruption related to the largest water leisure facility in the Gapyeong area of Gyeonggi Province.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office Namyangju Branch (Chief Prosecutor Han Moon-hyuk) announced on the 9th that Chairman A (60) and CEO B (40) of the water leisure company were arrested and indicted on charges including coercion, obstruction of official duties, bribery to a third party, breach of trust, and violation of the River Act.

The prosecution determined that although the facility involved in the case was illegally constructed and subject to forced demolition, through brokers and a local newspaper reporter, they pressured and lobbied public officials and were instead granted exclusive use of a water surface area larger than a soccer field.

Additionally, the prosecution decided to confiscate approximately 10 billion KRW earned through illegal operations as criminal proceeds. Local newspaper reporter C (63) was indicted on charges including receiving breach of trust benefits, and brokers D (63) and E (63), both former public officials, were arrested and indicted on charges including acceptance of bribes to a third party and violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act.

A and B are accused of directly threatening the responsible public officials or requesting inducement and lobbying through a local newspaper reporter and brokers from April 2019 to July 2021 to obtain permits for the water leisure facility. C is accused of receiving about 110 million KRW disguised as advertising fees from that time until July last year, while D and E are accused of receiving 49 million KRW disguised as design fees from June 2019 to October 2020.

Investigations revealed that from December 2018, A and B illegally constructed a super-large water leisure facility on Cheongpyeong Lake of the Bukhan River, indiscriminately cut down surrounding trees, dredged the area, and operated an unlicensed restaurant, violating 11 laws including the River Act, Han River Watershed Act, Mountainous Area Management Act, and Building Act.

Initially, Gapyeong County did not permit the use of Cheongpyeong Lake due to the facility being an illegal structure, issued an order for restoration to its original state, and planned forced demolition. The Cheongpyeong Lake area is a water source protection zone for 20 million metropolitan citizens, where various development activities are strictly restricted.

However, it was confirmed that the responsible public officials succumbed to the company's comprehensive lobbying efforts and reversed their initial refusal, granting exclusive permission to use 9,000 square meters of water surface area larger than a soccer field.

During this process, the prosecution explained that although the deputy county governor, who was from a different region, maintained a refusal stance, the permit was granted through the director's sole decision.

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