[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do (63), accused of favoring developers of the Daejang-dong project and receiving bribes through his son, denied the charges again at his second trial, claiming that "the prosecution fabricated the criminal facts in the warrant based solely on speculation."
On the morning of the 17th, the 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Joon-cheol) held the second preparatory hearing for the trial of former lawmaker Kwak and others, who were indicted while in custody on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Although defendants are not required to attend preparatory hearings, Kwak appeared in court in person again following his first trial.
At the hearing, Kwak once again denied the charges, stating, "Statements from related parties have been contaminated, and contradictory facts have appeared and disappeared." He added, "If you look at the evidence records, no one from Hana Bank has ever testified that the defendant was involved," and claimed, "This part disappeared from the indictment after I was detained."
After hearing Kwak’s side, the court said, "We will hold trials every Wednesday," and set the first trial date for the 13th of next month.
Previously, Kwak was accused of exerting influence on Hana Financial Group at the request of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), which participated in the Hana Bank consortium involved in the 2015 Daejang-dong development project, when the consortium faced the risk of collapse. In return, the prosecution alleges that his son, Byung-chae, who worked at Hwacheon Daeyu for about six years, received 5 billion won (2.5 billion won after tax) as severance pay.
Kwak is also accused of receiving illegal political funds of 50 million won from lawyer Nam Wook, the owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4, a subsidiary of Hwacheon Daeyu, around April 2016, when he was elected as a member of the National Assembly in the 20th general election. Lawyer Nam was additionally indicted on related charges and was brought to trial alongside Kwak, but he did not attend the preparatory hearing on this day.
According to a recorded conversation submitted to the prosecution by accountant Jung Young-hak, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 5, Kim asked, "What does your father want?" to which Byung-chae replied, "What will you do with the money that was supposed to be given to my father?" Kim then said, "What if you give it all at once? Since it’s more than Executive Director A (Hwacheon Daeyu executive), you should split it into one or two or three times and give it through you."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
