"100 Million Only" vs "Gave More": Broker Trial Dispute in Collapse Disaster

Dawon ENC CEO Testimony... "Met Moon Heung-sik Twice and Delivered 200 Million Won"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Contradictory testimonies are emerging regarding Moon Heung-sik, who has been identified as a broker in the 'Gwangju Hakdong Disaster' and claims to have pocketed only 100 million won as a fee for facilitating company selection.

On the 28th, Judge Kim Yong-min of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 10 held a trial session for brokers Moon Heung-sik (61) and Lee Gye-pyeong (74), who were indicted for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, and conducted witness examination of Lee Mo (44), the CEO of Dawon ENC, who allegedly gave bribes to them.

CEO Lee testified that he met Moon twice and handed over a total of 200 million won. First, in February 2015, he delivered 100 million won at an office inside a gym in Pungam-dong, Seo-gu, asking for help to secure a demolition contract.

He said, "After giving the money, I met the union president, and Moon, who was present at that meeting, introduced me by saying, 'This is the person who will carry out the demolition work.'"

Around January 2018, he explained that he delivered another 100 million won at a Korean restaurant in Geum-dong, Dong-gu, under the name of lobbying funds for Hansol.

Summarizing this, it contradicts the claim that Moon only received 100 million won in 2020 from the older brother of Kim, CEO of Hansol Enterprise.

Additionally, he testified that when lobbying, he did not meet Moon directly but delivered money through Lee. This is a controversial point. There is a dispute among the defendants as to whether Lee independently received a request and committed the act alone or merely acted as a messenger.

Moon’s side maintains that they only admit to receiving 100 million won as a joint offense, while Lee denies involvement in the contract, claiming, "Moon led the case, but I was not involved as an accomplice."

CEO Lee said, "I don't clearly remember the timing," and continued explaining that he met Lee at a coffee shop in Unnim-dong, Dong-gu, and handed over 50 million won under the pretext of securing contracts for crime prevention, relocation management, and land acquisition services. Ultimately, they failed to secure the service contract.

Under the pretext of asbestos removal, he gave a total of 50 million won?30 million won in February 2018 on a bench inside an art museum in Nongsong-dong, Seo-gu, and 20 million won in early summer 2020 in front of Lee’s daughter’s house.

Demolition of obstacles was jointly contracted by Hansol Enterprise and Daegun Construction, an affiliate of Dawon Group. CEO Lee said that Hansol later reimbursed 63 million won to the broker by visiting the Hansol office in October 2019 after the broker had fronted his lobbying funds.

The lobbying funds were reportedly raised by CEO Lee issuing fake tax invoices and receiving cash from partner companies or by deducting part of his own salary.

Between 2011 and 2012, CEO Lee first connected with these brokers while managing the site of the Hakdong 3 District redevelopment project. Rumors were widespread in the local community that "the Hakdong district is tightly controlled." Between 2014 and 2015, he began actively building rapport through business activities, which eventually led to this court case.

Moon was prosecuted on charges of conspiring with Lee or acting alone to facilitate the selection of companies for demolition and redevelopment projects, receiving money and goods from companies such as Dawon ENC and Hansol Enterprise.

The prosecution alleges that Moon conspired with Lee to receive 590 million won and independently received 700 million won, totaling 1.29 billion won in money and goods over 11 occasions.