Hong Jun-pyo and Kwak Sang-do Acquitted, Facing Daily Criticism: "This Is Why Calls for Complete Prosecution Reform Arise"

"Is it Prosecutor's Lenient Investigation or Judge's Lenient Judgment?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, has been continuously voicing criticism regarding the first trial acquittal of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do on bribery charges.

On the 13th, Mayor Hong criticized on Facebook, saying, "Looking at this case, I don't know whether it is a lenient investigation by the prosecutor, incompetence, or a lenient judgment by the judge. I have no idea what is what."

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. [Photo by Yonhap News]

He pointed out, "Usually, bribery cases hinge on whether money was exchanged or not, and it has been extremely rare for someone to receive money but be acquitted by claiming it was unrelated to their duties, as in former lawmaker Kwak's case."

He continued, "Even if we generously concede that there was no confidence in proving bribery, did they at least consider, investigate, or prosecute for violations of the Political Funds Act? Did they consider changing the indictment? This is a ridiculous investigation and judgment," adding, "How did that prosecutor pass the bar exam? Because prosecutors act like this, the term 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights) is being mentioned."

The day before, Mayor Hong also posted on Facebook expressing skepticism about the ruling, saying, "It is said that the son in his early 30s worked for five years and received 5 billion won as severance pay. Would that son have been given such an enormous amount of money?" He further criticized, "These days, judges and prosecutors have become more like salaried workers than guardians of justice, which is truly pitiful to see."

Meanwhile, on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Joon-cheol) acquitted former lawmaker Kwak, who was indicted on charges of receiving 5 billion won in bribes as severance pay from the Daejang-dong group for his son. The court judged that although 5 billion won is an unusual amount for severance pay, it was difficult to consider it as a bribe.

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