Likely to Question Kim Man-bae Meeting Details and Background of Innocence Opinion in Lee Jae-myung Candidate Case
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution has summoned former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il (62), who is suspected of a 'trial deal' related to the violation of the Public Official Election Act involving Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate.
According to the legal community on the 27th, the dedicated investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) summoned former Justice Kwon in a private session from 2 p.m. today as a suspect and is currently investigating him.
It is reported that former Justice Kwon was included in the so-called '50 Billion Club' list, which involves receiving or being promised money from developers of the Daejang-dong project.
In particular, during his time as a Supreme Court Justice, he led the acquittal ruling of then Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (currently the Democratic Party presidential candidate), who was sentenced to a nullification of election victory in the second trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. Related to this, allegations of a 'trial deal' have surfaced as it was revealed that he met several times with Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), around the time of the ruling announcement and received a large advisory fee from Hwacheon Daeyu shortly after his retirement last year.
The prosecution is expected to question former Justice Kwon about the circumstances of his frequent meetings with Kim around the Supreme Court ruling on Lee’s case and the reasons behind his opinion favoring acquittal in Lee’s trial.
The side of former Justice Kwon stated that he accepted the advisory position after receiving a proposal from Kim and reviewing whether it violated the Kim Young-ran Act, and also denied any knowledge of the 'special favor allegations' related to the Daejang-dong development project.
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