Police Ban Gwak Sang-do's Son from Leaving the Country over Receiving 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay from Hwacheon Daeyu

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The dedicated investigation team of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency, which is investigating allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, imposed an exit ban on the son of Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do, who received 5 billion won in severance pay from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, an investor in the development project, on the 1st.

Recently, the civic group Anti-Corruption National Participation Solidarity stated that the severance pay received by Assemblyman Kwak's son is much higher than that of professional managers who have worked for 20 to 30 years at large corporations, and claimed, "It is presumed to be a bribe in return for favors toward Assemblyman Kwak." They filed a complaint accusing Assemblyman Kwak and his son, former Hwacheon Daeyu CEO Lee Sung-moon, and the accounting officer of bribery and breach of trust in the course of duty.

The prosecution, which received the complaint containing these allegations, also obtained a search warrant for Assemblyman Kwak's son's residence on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and bribery, and executed the search the day before.

Assemblyman Kwak's son joined Hwacheon Daeyu in June 2015 and worked in the compensation team before resigning in March of this year. After joining, he received a salary ranging from 2.3 million to 3.8 million won before tax, but upon resignation, he received 5 billion won under the titles of performance bonus, consolation money, and severance pay. It is known that the actual amount received, excluding taxes, was about 2.8 billion won.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Kwak, who left the People Power Party due to this incident, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the same day and declared his resignation from the National Assembly, stating, "Regarding this matter, any statement I make will only cause greater misunderstanding and distrust will not be lifted, making it difficult to continue my activities as a member of the National Assembly."