Gwak Sang-do's Son Received Nearly 10 Billion Won Beyond '5 Billion'... "Hwacheon Daeyu Executives Received Close to 10 Billion Won"

Contract "Payment of Consolation Money of 500 Million KRW or More Upon Retirement"

Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] It has been revealed that there are employees at Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), the private developer leading the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, who received retirement bonuses worth several hundred million won besides the son of Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do.

Previously, controversy arose when the son of Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do, an independent (formerly of the People Power Party), received 5 billion won in retirement bonuses from Hwacheon Daeyu. The son, Mr. Kwak, reportedly earned a monthly salary of approximately 2.3 to 3.8 million won before tax, and upon leaving the company, he received 5 billion won under the titles of performance bonus, consolation money, and retirement pay. The actual amount received after taxes was reported to be 2.8 billion won.

According to JoongAng Ilbo, Hwacheon Daeyu made an agreement around June 2020 with all employees stating that "upon retirement, consolation money of over 500 million won will be paid as retirement pay and performance bonuses according to the salary system." This was due to a sharp increase in profits following apartment sales in December 2018.

Since this agreement, two people have retired so far. First is Assemblyman Kwak’s son, who joined in 2015 and worked for about six years before resigning from the position of assistant manager, and the other is Mr. A, an expert who has worked in the urban sector for a long time.

In particular, Mr. A is reported to have received nearly 10 billion won in retirement pay upon his recent retirement. A Hwacheon Daeyu official stated, "The exact amount is below 10 billion won, but we cannot disclose specific figures as it is personal information."

Meanwhile, Park Mo, the daughter of former special prosecutor Park Young-soo who recently expressed her intention to resign, is expected to receive more retirement pay than Assemblyman Kwak’s son, combining a 500 million won performance bonus and retirement pay calculated based on years of service.