Can the Lobbying Allegations Investigation Expand... Former Lawmaker Kwak's Warrant Hearing Results Likely to Affect Investigation Speed
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution investigating the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam City is expected to soon conclude the detention procedures for those involved in the '50 Billion Club.' Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo and former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il are under consideration for additional summonses, and the direction of the investigation is likely to change significantly depending on the outcome of the warrant request for former lawmaker Kwak.
According to the legal community on the 30th, the Daejang-dong allegations task force at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) is accelerating the formulation of charges against key figures on the 50 Billion Club list.
Earlier, the investigation team filed a pre-arrest warrant request against former lawmaker Kwak on suspicion of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (receiving bribes) in the afternoon of the previous day. The investigation team believes that when the Hana Bank consortium, which Hwacheon Daeyu participated in during the early stages of the Daejang-dong development project in 2015, was on the verge of collapse, former lawmaker Kwak exerted influence on Hana Financial Group at the request of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu.
Regarding the allegations that former lawmaker Kwak pressured the Cultural Heritage Administration to favor Hwacheon Daeyu concerning the cultural heritage excavation issues at the Daejang-dong development site, no concrete evidence has been found. The investigation team had also conducted a search and seizure at the Cultural Heritage Administration in the early stages of the Daejang-dong incident.
It is known that additional summonses or indictments are being considered for former special prosecutor Park and former Supreme Court Justice Kwon. In particular, former special prosecutor Park, who appears multiple times in the overall lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development, may be summoned again to verify the facts of the raised suspicions. Park served as a legal advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu, and there are allegations that his daughter, who was an employee of Hwacheon Daeyu, purchased an unsold apartment in Daejang-dong at a price lower than the market value.
There is a possibility of indictment for former Supreme Court Justice Kwon. After retirement, Kwon served as a legal advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu without reporting to the Korean Bar Association and received legal consultation fees totaling about 150 million won, approximately 15 million won per month, which is considered a violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act. However, regarding the so-called 'trial transaction allegations' that he took the legal advisor position at Hwacheon Daeyu as a reward for expressing a not-guilty opinion on the public official election law violation charges against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (former governor of Gyeonggi Province), at the Supreme Court plenary session, it is reported that proving the charges is difficult.
In the legal community, it is expected that the direction and speed of the remaining lobbying investigation will change significantly depending on the results of the pre-trial detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for former lawmaker Kwak, which will be held from the morning of the 1st. If the arrest warrant for former lawmaker Kwak is issued, the investigation team, which has summoned related persons consecutively over the past weekend, will be able to actively proceed with the remaining investigation while dispelling criticism and suspicions.
There is also a possibility that the lobbying investigation will conclude with the indictment of former lawmaker Kwak. Since there was no prior compulsory investigation for the other individuals except Kwak, the investigation may end after formal inquiries to confirm the suspicions.
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