Yoo Sang-beom: "'Gwak Sang-do's 5 Billion Won' Likely Guilty in Appeal Trial"

"Will Become a Mild Breeze for Pro-Lee Jun-seok Faction"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Yoo Sang-beom, a member of the People Power Party and a former prosecutor, opposed the Justice Party's plan to push for a "5 billion won special prosecutor," saying, "If a guilty verdict comes out in the appellate court, will there be another special prosecutor?"

On the 14th, Yoo said on MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" program, "At least wait until the second trial," adding that the political sphere is using special prosecutors as a "political weapon." The court acquitted former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do's son in the first trial, ruling that the 5 billion won retirement money he received from Hwacheon Daeyu could not be considered a bribe, and the prosecution has appealed this decision.

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who is accused of receiving bribes as severance pay for his son from the Daejang-dong group, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing related to violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Yoo said, "The 5 billion won club involving lawmaker Kwak Sang-do was prioritized for investigation because among the members of the 5 billion won club at that time, he was judged to have criminal suspicion," adding, "Although he was acquitted in the first trial, even as a legal expert, I see a high possibility that the verdict will change to guilty in the appellate court."

He pointed out, "If a guilty verdict is later handed down, there will be another special prosecutor, and they will eventually indict the same content again. Then, wouldn't the special prosecutor be meaningless?" He added, "If the judicial process goes to trial, we should wait for the trial results, and only if we absolutely cannot accept them should a special prosecutor be considered."

Regarding former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won's characterization of the People Power Party's preliminary primary (cutoff) results as "Lee Jun-seok's victory," Yoo said, "On that side (Lee Jun-seok's faction), two candidates from the Lee Jun-seok camp ran and received concentrated support, while on our side, as I mentioned earlier, seven candidates were competing," adding, "They made good use of the system where one person has two votes."

He continued, "Among the eight candidates who passed the cutoff, those who can be considered pro-Yoon candidates?Kim Jae-won, Cho Soo-jin, Kim Byung-min, Min Young-sam?are all well-known and have shown pro-Yoon stances so far," adding, "There are four candidates from the Lee Jun-seok camp, but the party's responsible members are very interested in party management and have strong resentment toward the internal strife and discord during the presidential election process involving Lee Jun-seok. The Lee Jun-seok faction will be just a minor breeze."