"'Son's 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay' Gwak Sang-do Sentenced in First Trial Today, Prosecution Seeks 15 Years Imprisonment"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Gwak Sang-do, Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management major shareholder Kim Man-bae, and Daejang-dong private developer lawyer Nam Wook

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial sentencing hearing for former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who was indicted on charges including accepting bribes from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), the leading company in the Daejang-dong development project, will be held on the 8th.

At 2 p.m. on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Joon-cheol) will conduct the first trial sentencing hearing for former lawmaker Kwak, Hwacheon Daeyu major shareholder Kim Man-bae, and Daejang-dong private developer lawyer Nam Wook.

At the previous closing argument hearing, the prosecutor requested the court to sentence former lawmaker Kwak to 15 years in prison and impose a fine of about 5 billion KRW, which is twice the amount of the bribes received. The prosecutor also requested an order to confiscate about 2.5 billion KRW related to the bribes. Kim was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and lawyer Nam was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

Then, "According to the medical certificate for (his son Byung-chae), the illness corresponds to relatively mild conditions such as vertigo and chronic cough, and there is no reason to receive a large sum of money for health deterioration," argued that "a large bonus of 5 billion KRW before tax cannot be paid to a low-level employee like Byung-chae." The implication is that the money was not a performance bonus for Byung-chae but was paid to former lawmaker Kwak.

On the other hand, former lawmaker Kwak's side claims innocence, stating that he did not assist the Daejang-dong group and was unaware that Byung-chae received severance pay. The defense attorney argued, "Regarding the bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, the indictment states that around January 2015, accountant Jung Young-hak, who was instructed by Kim, reported on the Daejang-dong development project twice, involving Kwak in the development project," but "the visits by accountant Jung and others were for legal consultation and advice on other criminal cases."

Regarding the allegation that he received a request from Kim to allow Hana Bank to participate in the consortium, the defense emphasized that it was "completely false" and that "testimonies from related parties indicate that Hana Bank decided to participate much earlier."

This sentencing is the first case where defendants related to the Daejang-dong development suspicion, which spread in 2021, receive court rulings. Especially as it is the first court judgment related to the so-called '50 billion club,' who received or promised money from Hwacheon Daeyu, this ruling is expected to influence future investigations and trials concerning the Daejang-dong development suspicion.

Attention should also be paid to the court's judgment on the credibility of the recordings submitted by accountant Jung. The recordings made between 2019 and 2020 were submitted during the prosecution's investigation and are considered key evidence not only in former lawmaker Kwak's case but also in the Daejang-dong development suspicion case. The recordings reportedly include disputes between accountant Jung and Kim over shared expenses and promises to pay hundreds of millions of KRW in dividends to former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu.

In particular, when former Director Yoo said, "Wouldn't it be fine to give it to (former lawmaker Kwak's) son as dividends?" Kim questioned, "How can the youngest employee in the company take 5 billion KRW?" However, Kim and lawyer Nam's side challenged the evidentiary value of the recordings, suggesting that the audio files might have been manipulated or that files different from the originals were submitted.

Earlier, former lawmaker Kwak was arrested and indicted on charges of accepting 5 billion KRW (2.5 billion KRW after tax) at the end of April 2021 through 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 for the 2015 Daejang-dong project (bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes). After being detained for 185 days, he was released on bail in August last year and has since been tried without detention.

Kim was also indicted for bribing former lawmaker Kwak, and lawyer Nam was indicted for providing illegal political funds amounting to 50 million KRW.