[Law & Story] Kim Manbae's All-Out Lobbying Must Be Uncovered

Shocking Financial Dealings Involving The Hankyoreh Executive
Thorough Internal Investigation and Disciplinary Action Needed
Prosecution Must Accelerate Probe Into '5 Billion KRW Club' and Lobbying Scandal

Seokjin Choi, Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Several executives from media companies who engaged in suspicious financial transactions with Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, have been revealed. This confirms that the media sector was no exception to Kim’s all-out lobbying efforts targeting political circles and the legal community during the Daejang-dong development project.

The most shocking case involves Executive A from The Hankyoreh newspaper. When the amount of the financial transaction, initially reported as 600 million KRW, was confirmed to be 900 million KRW, The Hankyoreh fired Executive A and issued a second apology letter promising the resignation of the CEO and editor-in-chief, as well as a thorough investigation. Despite taking swift and strong measures, it seems inevitable that The Hankyoreh’s image, built over 35 years since its founding in 1988, has suffered a fatal blow.

An executive from JoongAng Ilbo lent 80 million KRW to Kim and received 90 million KRW back the following year, while an executive from The Korea Times borrowed 100 million KRW from Kim and repaid it. A former editorial writer at Chosun Ilbo served as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu and received 35 million KRW in just four months. In addition, there are executives from news agencies and economic newspapers who served as advisors or public relations directors at Hwacheon Daeyu after retirement, and there are reports of several journalists receiving cash or gift certificates from Kim at golf courses. Given the extent of what has been revealed so far, it is difficult to even estimate how much remains undisclosed.

The parties involved have offered explanations such as the money being loans, but considering that most of them were reporters in positions like legal team leaders, social affairs chiefs, or editorial writers who could have been involved in reporting on Daejang-dong, criticism that their actions were inappropriate is natural. Regardless of the investigation, each media company should conduct strict internal investigations and impose appropriate disciplinary actions to dispel public suspicion and use this as an opportunity for self-purification.

The saying, “Prosecutors and reporters are people walking on the prison wall,” has never felt more true than it does now. Since most of Kim and the controversial reporters were seniors, colleagues, or juniors who frequented the legal community together, the sense of regret is greater than anyone else’s. Reflecting on whether I could have resisted temptation in the same situation, I honestly cannot confidently answer “yes.”

Now, the so-called “mainstream” of the Daejang-dong investigation, which the prosecution has been focusing on, remains only the investigation of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the lobbying-related investigation, represented by the so-called “Daejang-dong 5 billion KRW club,” has yet to show significant progress except for indicting former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do and former Seongnam City Council Chairman Choi Yoon-gil.

In a way, the prosecution itself has provided grounds for Lee and the Democratic Party to frame the Daejang-dong investigation as “opposition party oppression” and criticize it as “selective investigation.” Even now, the prosecution must launch an unreserved investigation into all sectors touched by the Daejang-dong group’s illicit money, including political circles of both ruling and opposition parties, the legal community, and the media.

On the other hand, although late, it is somewhat fortunate that the reality of the lobbying is gradually coming to light. If Lee had won last year’s presidential election and become president, and if trusted prosecutors personally selected by him had investigated the Daejang-dong case following the previous Moon Jae-in administration’s pro-government prosecutors who only conducted superficial investigations, would the series of revealed corruptions, Kim’s all-out lobbying, and suspicious money flows have been uncovered? It is shameful and painful, but the fact that there is still an opportunity to correct these wrongs is a small consolation amid misfortune.

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