Prosecutors Indict Former Journalists in 'Kim Man-bae Bribery' Case
The prosecution has indicted former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il, identified as one of the parties involved in the 'Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club,' without detention on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. He is accused of acting as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, the developer of Daejang-dong, without being registered as a lawyer.
The prosecution decided to continue investigating the 'judicial deal' allegations that former Justice Kwon influenced the overturning of the second trial guilty verdict in the Supreme Court appeal case concerning former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act, at the request of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu.
On the 7th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Seung-hak) indicted former Justice Kwon without detention on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. This comes 2 years and 11 months after the prosecution began the related investigation in September 2021.
Former Justice Kwon retired in September 2020 and was employed as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu two months later. The prosecution reports that from January to August 2021, Kwon performed litigation-related tasks such as analyzing trial situations in civil appeal cases and first-instance administrative lawsuits related to Hwacheon Daeyu, drafting legal documents, and providing legal arguments without registering as a lawyer. Engaging in lawyer activities without registration is punishable by up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 million won under the Attorney-at-Law Act.
The prosecution will continue investigating the 'judicial deal' allegations against former Justice Kwon. It is known that while serving as a Supreme Court Justice in July 2020, Kwon led the ruling to overturn and remand the appeal case regarding former leader Lee's election law violation with a not guilty verdict. With the indictment of Kwon, four out of six legal professionals and journalists suspected in the 'Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club' allegations are now facing trial. Previously, former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, indicted on charges of receiving 5 billion won as severance pay for his son, was acquitted of bribery charges in the first trial and is currently undergoing an appeal trial. Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, indicted for receiving 1.9 billion won after promising 20 billion won from private developers in Daejang-dong, is undergoing a first trial. The prosecution has not yet taken action against former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam and former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Choi Jae-kyung.
The prosecution also indicted Hong Seon-geun, chairman of the Money Today Group, without detention on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for borrowing 5 billion won interest-free from Kim Man-bae. Hong is accused of borrowing 5 billion won in January 2020 from Kim under the names of his spouse and son and being exempted from paying the agreed interest of 14.54 million won during repayment. Regarding this charge, the prosecution also indicted Kim without detention for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
On the same day, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-dong) indicted two former media executives without detention on charges of accepting bribes and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for receiving money after being requested by Kim to suppress negative articles related to the Daejang-dong project. Mr. A, a former deputy editor of Hankyoreh, is accused of receiving 890 million won from Kim between May 2019 and August 2020, and Mr. B, a former executive of JoongAng Ilbo, is accused of receiving 204 million won from April 2019 to August 2021. Kim, who provided these two with a total of over 1 billion won in money and goods, was indicted on charges of mediation of breach of trust and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
