Prosecution Seeks 15 Years Imprisonment and 5 Billion Won Fine for Kwak Sang-do over Son's 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who was indicted on charges of accepting bribes in connection with the Daejang-dong development project, is attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution has demanded a 15-year prison sentence for former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do (63), who was indicted on charges including accepting bribes from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), the leading company in the Daejang-dong development project.

On the 30th, during the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Joon-cheol), the prosecutor requested the court to sentence former lawmaker Kwak to 15 years in prison and impose a fine of approximately 5 billion won, which is twice the amount of the bribes received. The prosecutor also asked for an order to confiscate about 2.5 billion won related to the bribes. Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and lawyer Nam Wook, a private developer involved in Daejang-dong, was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

In court that day, the prosecutor strongly refuted the defense's claim that the money was received as compensation or a bonus for the health deterioration of Kwak’s son, Byung-chae. The prosecutor pointed out that according to Byung-chae’s medical certificate, his conditions?benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and chronic cough?were relatively minor illnesses, providing no reason to receive a large sum for health deterioration. The prosecutor also noted that Byung-chae regularly participated in early morning soccer matches and had contacted a driving school to obtain a motorcycle license while working at Hwacheon Daeyu, indicating no issues with daily life.

The prosecutor emphasized, "A large bonus of 5 billion won before tax cannot be paid to a low-level employee like Byung-chae," and added, "This was not a performance bonus but an amount paid to Kwak Sang-do." Furthermore, the prosecutor stated, "This crime, which involved forming a collusive relationship with former lawmaker Kwak, who was elected to the National Assembly, can be seen as a pillar of the 'Daejang-dong corruption.' The amount directly obtained by a sitting lawmaker through bribery is an unprecedented 2.5 billion won, and the method of payment, cleverly disguised as a bonus for the son’s performance, is socially unacceptable. There is still no sign of remorse."

Earlier, former lawmaker Kwak was arrested and indicted on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for allegedly receiving 5 billion won (2.5 billion won after tax) in late April last year through his son Byung-chae, who worked at Hwacheon Daeyu, as severance pay and other payments in exchange for helping Hwacheon Daeyu form a consortium with Hana Bank in the 2015 Daejang-dong project. After being detained for 185 days, he was released on bail in August and has since been on trial without detention.

Former lawmaker Kwak claims innocence, stating he did not assist the Daejang-dong group and was unaware that his son received severance pay. Kim Man-bae was indicted on charges of bribing Kwak, and lawyer Nam Wook was indicted for delivering illegal political funds amounting to 50 million won; both deny the charges.

However, in a previous hearing, lawyer Nam testified that "Kwak told Kim, 'Just take the money out of the company and serve three years in prison, then you’ll be fine,'" but Kwak and Kim’s sides questioned the credibility of Nam’s statement and actively denied the content of the remark.