Police Decide Not to Prosecute Rep. Hwang Hee on Sponsorship Fund Allegations

Hwang Hee, Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It has been confirmed that Representative Hwang Hee, who was under police investigation on suspicion of receiving quid pro quo sponsorship from the Korea Water Resources Corporation, has been cleared of charges.

According to the police on the 5th, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency decided not to prosecute Representative Hwang, who was suspected of violating the Political Funds Act, the day before. The police reportedly reached this conclusion because there was insufficient evidence to consider the sponsorship money received by Representative Hwang as quid pro quo.

Representative Hwang is accused of proposing a bill favorable to the Water Resources Corporation and receiving political donations. According to Representative Kim Ye-ji of the People Power Party, when Hwang was a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee in 2018, he proposed a bill allowing the Water Resources Corporation to construct buildings and operate rental businesses in the Busan Smart City, an innovation industry promotion complex. After the bill passed, it is known that from 2019, Representative Hwang received political donations totaling 10 million won over two years from a senior executive directly under the president of the Water Resources Corporation.

Civil organizations, the Liberty and Rule of Law Center and the Judicial Examination Preparation Group, filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2020 against Representative Hwang and two others, including a director of the Water Resources Corporation, on charges including violation of the Political Funds Act. The complaint was transferred from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office to the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

In May and July of last year, the police raided the offices of the Water Resources Corporation and uncovered evidence that employees of the corporation made so-called 'split donations' to ruling and opposition members of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Subsequently, the police booked nine executives, including Park Jae-hyun, president of the Water Resources Corporation, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, and sent seven of them to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention. Two, including President Park, were cleared as there was no evidence confirming their involvement in the donations.