Five individuals, including a former housing redevelopment association president and brokers, have been arrested for exchanging bribes in return for selecting construction companies.
The Criminal Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 26th that they have detained and referred for prosecution a former member of a housing redevelopment maintenance association in Gyeongnam, a man in his 60s identified as A, on charges of accepting bribes, and a broker in his 50s identified as B, on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act and other offenses.
Two other brokers in their 50s, including C, who are also charged with violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, and a construction company representative in his 40s, D, who is accused of offering bribes, have been referred for prosecution without detention.
According to the Gyeongnam police, A used his position as association president to demand contracts with a specific company and, in return, received 50 million won from the company.
B and other brokers were found to have received a total of 400 million won from three companies in return for brokering the selection of construction companies for A.
Previously, the police launched an investigation after receiving intelligence that brokers at a housing redevelopment construction site were receiving money from companies and lobbying the association to influence the selection of construction companies.
They then analyzed financial transactions and secured evidence through search and seizure operations, thereby uncovering the crimes.
A Gyeongnam police official stated, "We will focus our investigative capabilities on eradicating bribery related to redevelopment projects, which can increase the financial burden on association members, as well as corruption and irregularities at construction sites."
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