Samsung C&T Officials Deny Charges of Inflating Budget for Gageodo Breakwater Project

Former and Current Executives of Design Supervision Company Also "Deny Charges"
Accused of Inflating Actual Construction Costs by 15.7 Billion Won

Former and current executives of Samsung C&T and a design supervision company, accused of embezzling 15.7 billion KRW in construction costs during the Gageodo breakwater project, denied the charges at their first trial.

At the first hearing held at 10:20 a.m. on the 23rd at the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 12 (Presiding Judge Dang Woojeung), four former Samsung C&T executives, including Jo, who are charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud) and obstruction of official duties by deception, along with four former and current employees of the design supervision company, all denied the charges.

The Samsung C&T executives argued, "The prosecution claims that the emergency restoration work at Gageodo Port (Phase 1) and the soft ground improvement work are separate projects, but Phase 1 and Phase 2 are inherently connected." They added, "Although the indictment states that Samsung C&T first asserted the necessity of Phase 2, it was initiated at the request of the ordering agency." Furthermore, the defense attorney stated, "There was only cooperation with the design supervision company to prepare designs suitable for site conditions, and no collusion."

The former and current employees of the design supervision company also denied the charges, stating there was no conspiracy or fraudulent behavior. The design supervision company claimed, "We did not receive any economic benefits other than design fees," and "We only performed legitimate design activities as designers."

According to the prosecution, in March 2016, while carrying out the soft ground improvement work (Phase 2) as part of the large-scale breakwater construction for typhoon damage restoration at Gageodo Port, they allegedly submitted design documents to the ordering agency, Mokpo Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, with inflated construction costs. To match the budget allocated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the actual construction cost was 19 billion KRW, but it was inflated to 34.7 billion KRW. The prosecution believes Samsung C&T advocated the necessity of Phase 2 and that out of the 34.7 billion KRW received as construction payment, only 14.3 billion KRW was spent on construction costs, leaving a difference of 20.4 billion KRW.

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