'5 Billion Club' Former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo Faces Arrest Decision "Truth Will Soon Be Revealed"

Park Young-soo, the former special prosecutor (71) allegedly involved in the so-called '50 Billion Club' scandal, accused of receiving bribes in exchange for helping private developers in Daejang-dong, has appeared for a detention hearing. If the court issues an arrest warrant, the prosecution's investigation into the 50 Billion Club, which had stalled following the first trial acquittal of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, is expected to regain momentum. Conversely, if the warrant is dismissed, the prosecution's plan to secure Park's custody to clarify the quid pro quo relationship and trace the flow of funds may face setbacks.

Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who is suspected of receiving bribes in exchange for helping private developers in Daejang-dong, known as the so-called '5 Billion Club' suspicion, is entering the courtroom on the morning of the 29th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At 10 a.m. on the 29th, Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing for Park, who is accused of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Upon appearing in court, Park said, "First of all, I apologize to the public for causing concern due to various matters. I will sincerely and faithfully testify the facts to the court," adding, "I believe the truth will soon be revealed." When reporters asked if he still maintains that he never exerted influence over Woori Bank, he firmly replied, "No."

The hearing for Yang Jae-sik, Park's closest aide and former special prosecutor aide, who is also accused and for whom the prosecution has requested an arrest warrant as an accomplice, will be conducted at 2 p.m. by Judge Lee Min-soo, also in charge of warrants. The decision on their detention is expected to be made late that night or early the next morning.

On the 26th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-joon) requested arrest warrants for them, citing "signs of evidence destruction." This comes about 1 year and 7 months after the prosecution began investigating the '50 Billion Club' allegations targeting bribes from Daejang-dong developers.

Park, who served as chairman of the board at Woori Bank, is accused of receiving approximately 20 billion KRW worth of benefits and two detached houses in November-December 2014 in exchange for facilitating Woori Bank's Seongnam-e Deul consortium's participation and the issuance of a letter of intent for project financing (PF) loans related to the Daejang-dong development project from private developers including lawyer Nam Wook. He is also accused of receiving 30 million KRW in cash from lawyer Nam as election funds for the 2015 Korean Bar Association presidential election.

He is also accused of receiving 50 million KRW from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, as a bribe for facilitating the issuance of the letter of intent, with a future promise of 5 billion KRW. The prosecution suspects that Park received 50 million KRW from Kim and lawyer Nam through Lee Ki-sung, a sales agent for Daejang-dong, and then sent the money back to Kim to be used as capital increase funds for Hwacheon Daeyu, thereby securing shares in the Daejang-dong project.

On the other hand, Park's side completely denies the allegations, stating, "There was never any participation in the Daejang-dong development project, nor any receipt or promise of money or valuables in exchange for financial mediation or other favors."

Once Park's custody is secured, the prosecution plans to continue examining whether the 255 million KRW salary he received while working as an advisory lawyer for Hwacheon Daeyu before his appointment as special prosecutor in July 2015, and the 1.1 billion KRW loan his daughter took while working at Hwacheon Daeyu, are part of the amounts promised to him by the Daejang-dong group.

If the warrant is dismissed, the prosecution is expected to consider whether to reapply for an arrest warrant or proceed directly to indictment without reapplication. It has been reported that Park damaged his mobile phone used for the investigation and destroyed records on his office PC in preparation for the investigation.

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