'5 Billion Club' Former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo to Face Detention Hearing on the 29th

Former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who is allegedly involved in the so-called '50 Billion Club' scandal for receiving or promising to receive bribes from developers of the Daejang-dong project, will appear in court on the 29th for a detention hearing.

According to the legal community on the 27th, Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, head of the warrant division at the Seoul Central District Court, will conduct the pre-trial detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for Park, who is facing charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, at 10 a.m. on the 29th. The hearing for Park's close aide, former special prosecutor aide Yang Jae-sik, will be held the same day at 2 p.m., presided over by Judge Lee Min-soo, also in charge of warrants.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-joon) filed the detention warrant request for former special prosecutor Park the day before. They also filed a detention warrant request for former aide Yang on the same charges, considering him an accomplice.

Park is accused of conspiring with former aide Yang between November and December 2014, while serving as chairman of the board at Woori Bank, to solicit bribes from private developers of the Daejang-dong project, including lawyer Nam Wook, in exchange for facilitating Woori Bank's participation in the Seongnam Eutteul consortium and the issuance of a letter of intent for project financing (PF) loans. He is alleged to have promised benefits worth approximately 20 billion KRW, including advisory fees for land compensation in Daejang-dong and profits from commercial property development, as well as two detached houses.

He is also charged with receiving 30 million KRW in cash as election funds for the Korean Bar Association presidency.

Additionally, Park is accused of receiving 50 million KRW in April 2015 from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, in exchange for facilitating the issuance of a letter of intent for Woori Bank loans, and promising benefits worth approximately 5 billion KRW.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 summoned Park as a suspect for questioning on the 22nd.

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