Prosecutors Re-summon Kwak Sang-do's Son Over 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay from Hwacheon Daeyu

The prosecution investigating former lawmaker Gwak Sang-do's '50 Billion Club' allegations has re-summoned Gwak's son, Byeong-chae.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) summoned Gwak in the morning for questioning as a suspect. This is the third summons following those on the 27th of last month and the 3rd of this month.

The prosecution is reportedly questioning Gwak about the circumstances under which he received severance pay from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management and whether former lawmaker Gwak was involved in the process.

Gwak is accused of receiving 5 billion KRW (2.5 billion KRW after taxes, etc.) suspected to be disguised severance pay in collusion with his father, former lawmaker Gwak, when he resigned after working at Hwacheon Daeyu until April 2021. He faces charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds.

The prosecution believes that when the Seongnam Eutteul consortium, which included Hwacheon Daeyu, faced a crisis of collapse, private developers in Daejang-dong asked former lawmaker Gwak to exert influence, and in return, bribery was delivered through Gwak's son. Based on this, former lawmaker Gwak was arrested and indicted last year. At that time, his son Byeong-chae was not prosecuted. However, the first trial court in the case acquitted former lawmaker Gwak, stating it was difficult to recognize the consortium's collapse crisis and Gwak's exertion of influence.

The court also pointed out that it was difficult to consider the Gwak father and son as an 'economic community,' making it hard to evaluate the severance pay received by Gwak's son as a benefit received by former lawmaker Gwak. Dissatisfied with this, the prosecution has registered Gwak's son as an accomplice in bribery and is focusing on proving the charges through supplementary investigations.

In particular, with the issuance of an arrest warrant for former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, another party involved in the '50 Billion Club' allegations, on charges including receiving money from Hwacheon Daeyu through his daughter, there is analysis that the prosecution has found a breakthrough in the investigation. Last month, the prosecution re-requested an arrest warrant for former special prosecutor Park, adding charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by regarding the 1.1 billion KRW loan received by his daughter from Hwacheon Daeyu as part of the '50 Billion promise,' thereby securing his custody.

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