Kwon Soon-il, former Supreme Court Justice suspected of being a member of the so-called 'Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club' and involved in allegations of trial manipulation related to former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act, was summoned to the prosecution as a suspect.
The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Seung-hak) summoned former Justice Kwon on the 31st for investigation on suspicion of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act and other charges.
After retiring, former Justice Kwon is accused of acting as a lawyer without registration while serving as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, whose major shareholder is Kim Man-bae, a private developer involved in the Daejang-dong project, from November 2020 to September 2021. During this period, Kwon reportedly received 150 million KRW in advisory fees from Hwacheon Daeyu.
Former Justice Kwon is one of six individuals suspected of receiving or being promised large sums of money from developers involved in the Daejang-dong project, collectively referred to as the '5 Billion Club.'
The prosecution is investigating whether Kwon's appointment as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu is connected to the so-called 'trial manipulation' allegations alongside the suspicion of large-scale bribery.
The 'trial manipulation' allegation concerns the claim that in July 2020, while serving as a Supreme Court Justice, Kwon played a leading role when the Supreme Court overturned and remanded the case of former leader Lee Jae-myung, who was facing a fine of 3 million KRW?a penalty that would have resulted in the loss of his position as Governor of Gyeonggi Province?on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, effectively acquitting him.
Suspicion arose after it was revealed that Kim visited Kwon's office several times around the time of the Supreme Court ruling on Lee.
The prosecution is expected to question Kwon about his relationship with Kim, the circumstances of his appointment as Hwacheon Daeyu advisor, his stance on the trial manipulation allegations, and specific details of his advisory activities.
When the prosecution raided Kwon's office in March, the warrant only cited violations of the Attorney-at-Law Act, but they stated they would investigate the overall allegations, including trial manipulation.
The investigation began in September 2021 after civic groups filed complaints against Kwon for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act and accepting bribes in connection with the Daejang-dong preferential development allegations.
The prosecution initially separated the Attorney-at-Law Act violation charges, excluding the trial manipulation allegations, and handed them over to the police, considering them outside the scope of direct prosecution. However, after consultations between the prosecution and police regarding investigation efficiency, the case was returned to the prosecution in October last year.
Kwon was summoned for investigation by the prosecution in November 2021 regarding the Daejang-dong case. After a period of little progress, the investigation gained momentum again as the main investigation into collusion between politics and business concluded and the '5 Billion Club' investigation intensified.
Among the six individuals named in the '5 Billion Club,' former National Assembly member Kwak Sang-do and former special prosecutor Park Young-soo have already been indicted. Former Blue House Chief of Civil Affairs Choi Jae-kyung and former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam have undergone written investigations.
Recently, Hong Seon-geun, chairman of the Money Today Media Group, was summoned as a suspect for questioning.
Hong is suspected of borrowing 5 billion KRW from Kim, who was a Money Today reporter in October 2019, and repaying only the principal two months later.
Based on the results of the investigation on this day, the prosecution plans to soon decide whether to take judicial action against former Justice Kwon, Chairman Hong, and others.
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